My Life for Hire
by KotovSyndrome
Summary: A mercenary is all he was. Ever since the events that led him out of his hometown, he has been nothing more or nothing less. But the problems of a place he had hoped to forget about have found him and now he has to save the city he once swore to protect.
1. Prologue

Yo guys; I decided to start a new story because the idea I have for it has been bothering me for quite a while now. This doesn't mean I'm giving up on "Savior," I'm almost done with the next chapter to that story and I'll post it when I'm finished. I don't know which story I'll put more time into as of right now but my efforts are leaning a little toward this one. This'll be a Naruto-based story set in somewhat a modern age…ah hell it's takes place in the modern era so umm…enjoy.

I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in the series.

My Life for Hire

Prologue

"Naruto…you know what you're about to do is absolutely crazy right?" Yamato stopped the armored truck in front of the tall skyscraper known as the Hokage Tower. He took his hands off the steering wheel and slightly turned his body to peer through the rectangular slot that showed the young man sitting in the back of the vehicle. The young adult slightly lifted his head and met the older man's gaze,

"And all my other plans weren't crazy?"

Yamato laughed at that, "That's a good point." As his laughter died down he took a second to look Naruto over. No longer was he dressed in his normal attire, instead he was outfitted in an explosive-ordinance disposal suit. "Remember what I told you."

"Yea, Yea I remember." The young male heaved a sigh and put the last piece of his newly acquired armor on, which was a heavy-plated ballistic helmet. With a vigorous shake of his head, the faceplate fell from the top of the helmet, completely covering his face in the same material as his suit.

"Well kid, here they come. Don't go until I give you the signal." Yamato turned himself back around and looked at the guards that were slowly approaching the car, readying himself for the events that were about to unfold. Naruto swiftly turned his head to the left and grabbed his gun of choice that was leaning on the wall next to him. '7.62 by 51 millimeter shell, extended cartridge holding 200 rounds per magazine, and belt fed…yea, this is the right gun for the job.' He grabbed one cartridge that lay beside him and loaded the gun instantly before readying his finger on the trigger. Finally deciding to stand up, he positioned himself in front of the truck's back doors and got into a stance to charge shoulder first into them. The sound of the guards talking to his longtime friend and teacher reached his ears and in that moment, all the events that led him to this point were brought to the forefront of his mind.

6 years earlier….

Rain violently hit the soil of Amegakure's outskirts as grey clouds covered the once blue sky. A seventeen year-old Uzumaki Naruto found himself walking down a muddy path that led out of the city's territory and into a small town that he wasn't familiar with. Though the day was miserable, the town was alive with people as they were walking up and down the streets, going in and out of shops, or back to their homes. 'I guess I should find a place to rest.' The blonde teen thought. He silently walked on the sidewalk, shooting his head from left to right looking for some sort of rest stop. A few more quick glances and he finally spotted an inn down the road that seemed small from the looks of it, but looks can be deceiving. Upon entrance, there was a young woman situated at a desk that glanced up from a book she was reading. "Oh hello, welcome to Yume no Yado." She happily greeted. Naruto offered a small smile and set a large duffle bag he was carrying down on the floor beside him. "I was wondering if you had any rooms available."

"Of course we do. Let me just check the list to see which ones are vacant." Naruto nodded his head and stood in silence until the woman spoke up again, "Alright, there's a vacant room on the second floor, last door on your left."

"Arigato, uhh…" He looked at her questionably.

She gave a soft smile, "Mai."

"Ah, Arigato Mai." With that, the blonde teen took the keys that Mai offered and walked up the stairs to his assigned room. It was…cozy to say the least. There was a single bed with windows flanking both of its sides. The bathroom was just off to the right of it and finally there was a small dresser just below one of the windows. 'Eh, it's better than nothing.' He haphazardly threw his duffle bag off to the side and plopped down on the surprisingly comfy bed. Thoughts instantly flooded his mind, ones that he would rather not think of, but the more he tried to ignore them the harder it was to push them back. He groaned in annoyance at his current predicament and decided that the best solution was sleep. He released a small breath before closing his eyes and only after a few minutes did he finally doze off.

The morning came as fast as he expected but Naruto didn't really mind it. He lazily opened one of his eyes and allowed the rays of the sun to shine into them. Slowly, he rose from the bed and collected his bag before heading out the door and down the stairs to pay for his room. "Ohayo, Mai-san." Naruto greeted as he approached the desk.

"Ohayo, are you here to check out?" He nodded and placed a large sum of money on the desk. "I hope this is enough to cover it."

The woman's eyes widened at the amount but when she averted her gaze from the money back to the teen, she found that he had disappeared.

'I better get a move on if I want to meet the contact by nightfall.' A few days prior to his stay at the inn, Naruto had received a contract by an unknown sender; the only information on the contract was a meeting place and a time. A bar situated in a small town in Hi no Kuni was the rendezvous point and the blonde was about a half-mile out. As for the time, walking and hitching rides from outside the border of Amegkure to Hi no Kuni takes a good amount of hours and as of right now, the sun was already beginning to fall below the horizon.

'Compared to the town prior, this one is very…dead.' Naruto continued to walk toward his destination until he finally reached the entrance of it. With one swift push of the door it swung open, revealing the non-appealing inside of the bar. He scanned the area for any suspicious person or persons that could be his unknown contact and as cliché as it sounds, there was a figure sitting on a stool at the far end of the bar. Slowly, Naruto walked over to the supposed contact and took a seat next to him. "Looks like you made it on time; that's one thing that hasn't changed about you." That voice was familiar, quickly glancing over to the figure Naruto's eyes slightly widened. The contact was a male; he was slightly taller than the blonde and sported the natural attire of a high ranking soldier, which consisted of a special-weaved uniform that prevented one of being impaled by shrapnel from grenades and other things, boots that had the same perks, and finally a ballistic vest that protected one from most bullets. But the thing that made him most recognizable was his gravity-defying hair and the cut-off balaclava that covered the lower half of his face.

"Kakashi…" Naruto's voice was low, just above a whisper. "So you're my contact," he set his duffle bag down on the floor beside him and rested his arms on the bar's counter, "So what does the city want of me?" No emotion could be defined through his voice.

Kakashi heaved a sigh before calling for the bartender, "Can you get my friend here a drink, the same as I had before." The man nodded and walked back to the other end of the bar to complete the request. "You know Naruto, I never would have expected you to be the kind of person to hold a grudge."

"Don't start with me Kakashi," his voice held no anger, which was the opposite of what the masked man expected. As before, it held no emotion. "Now tell me why they dragged me here to meet you."

"You remember Danzo and his elite guard, right?" The teen nodded his head, "He's planning something, and the Hokage wants you to find out what."

"And the reason why you're having me do this is to prevent a domestic war." Kakashi gave him a literal thumbs up, "You k now the Hokage and I were close and if Danzo does find out that I'm the one sneaking around in his territory, then he will use our relationship as an excuse to execute his plan."

The elite soldier put his fisted hand on his chin, "I had the same concern, but Hokage-sama paid no attention to the risks."

Showing some emotion, Naruto smiled slightly, "She still has that much faith in me."

Kakashi chuckled slightly, "Words can't describe how much she believes in you."

The blonde's smile stretched just a bit more before returning back to a thin line. "Here you go boy." The bartender said as he placed the requested drink right in front of the teen. Naruto paid no mind to it and instead decided to get up, grab his duffle bag, and walk toward the entrance/exit of the bar. Before he could walk out of the door Kakashi stopped him, "Aren't you going to drink that?" he pointed at the untouched glass.

"Gomen Kakashi, but I don't accept drinks from strangers." And with that he left, leaving a somewhat hurt Kakashi behind.

'Well it looks like I'm going back to Konoha,' Naruto slightly laughed to himself, 'I should have figured this would happen.' He swiftly walked to the side of the bar where the parking lot resided, 'There's no way in hell I'm walking and hitching rides again.' Spotting an average looking car Naruto pulled out a pair of weird looking tools. 'Lockpicking is always handy.' As he finished, the lock on the door popped up in which he opened and threw his bag in the back. He then preceded to hotwire the car and only a few seconds later did the engine start. 'I can't believe I'm doing this…' Shifting the car in reverse, Naruto backed out of the parking lot and began his trek to Konoha.

End of Prologue

There you have it folks. Leave comments or what not to let me know how you feel about this story and if I should continue it or not. As for "Savior," I'm rereading the new chapter as of right now to see if there's any mistakes or if I should change something. The chapter should be up soon so stay tuned. I know the prologue is short but…it's the prologue, the chapters are going to be about the same length if not, longer than the chapters of "Savior." Till nex time.


	2. Welcome Home

Hey guys, here's the first official chapter of "My Life for Hire." Next update will be after I post the new chapter for "Savior" up.

**Kingkakashi-** I was just asking for your general opinion on the set-up for the story, such as it taking place in the modern era and what not. I'll be sure to separate the dialogue from the normal text. I know prologues do what you list, but sometimes it's better to leave the reader with very general details and then work from there. Thank you for your comment.

Now, on with the story.

'Thoughts'

"Speaking"

Chapter 1: Welcome Home

Those who are seeing Konoha for the first time would be completely awestruck. The tall buildings were eye-popping and when displayed under the night, they would be orchestrated in a mass display of lights. Now was no different as Naruto drove through the city he once called home.

'Seems like nothing has changed.' He thought, looking from left to right, seeing people littered on the streets. A soft beeping noise brought him out of his thoughts as he looked down near the car's speedometer. The vehicle was running low on gas and only a few more feet did the car drive before it completely turned off. 'Well crap, looks like I'm walking from here.' Reluctantly, he got out of the car with his bag in hand and began walking to his destination.

As he walked, he was receiving looks from the people of his surroundings; ones that were out of confusion, as if they were trying to remember who he was. He released a short sigh and continued to walk; the faster he got to the tower, the better.

Only after a few minutes (to his slight surprise) did he finally reach the main doors of the colossal structure. The glass doors slid open automatically and he walked over to the elevators, which were situated to the right of the front desk. Just as he was about to press the button to call one, a voice caught his attention, "Wait! You can't go up without checking in first!" It was the receptionist.

"Don't worry, I'm already expected." Naruto pushed the button and the elevator doors opened automatically. Giving a quick a wave the doors closed and he pressed the button for the top floor. The elevator complimented the doors of the building as the material behind the blue-eyed male was made of glass, giving the occupant a clear and beautiful view of the city. The mechanism reached the top floor with no problem and with a mild "ding" the doors opened, revealing a room with yet another receptionist sitting at a desk. Upon closer inspection Naruto smiled and walked up to greet the person.

The receptionist kept her head down, in which the blonde figured she was looking at a document. Catching the workers attention, he cleared his throat and began to talk, "I'm here to see the Hokage." The employee looked up from her work and her eyes visibly widened.

"N-Naruto?"

"Hey Shizune, long time no see." The now known Shizune shot up from her seat and engulfed the blonde in an uncomfortably tight embrace. "Shizune…air…please." He weezed out.

With a blush of embarrassment on her face she released him, causing him to drop to the ground with his hands on his knees and intake a large breath of air. "Naruto, I can't believe it's you!"

"Yea, it has been a while hasn't it?" Getting the necessary air back in his lungs, the teen stood up straight and began to examine his friend. Her attire consisted of a white collared shirt along with a dress skirt that was midnight blue. On her feet was a pair of high heels that complimented her outfit.

"Are you done staring?" it was Naruto's turn to blush as he shot his vision away from her. Shizune chose to chuckle at his situation, "Naruto-kun, I'm just kidding. You can enter her office when you're ready." She smiled at him and went back to her desk to continue her work.

With slight anticipation, Naruto walked up to the office doors, opened them, and stepped in. The Hokage, just like Shizune, was situated at her desk signing some documents that she deemed important. She didn't hear the blonde come in due to her focus being on those for-mentioned documents. Her concentration was broken when the sound of the doors closing hit her ears and she swiftly shot her head up. When the image of the blonde reached her sight, she didn't know how to react. All these emotions were welled up inside her waiting to break free, but she suppressed them. Now wasn't the time to sit down and chat with her gaki, she needed to brief him on his mission. She was about to speak but Naruto beat her to the punch.

"So I hear that you need my help with some problems you're having." He smiled tauntingly. He didn't say that out of ignorance or disrespect, it was a statement that was meant to tease her.

'Smartass…' was the first thought that came to the Hokage's mind. She should have expected him to say something like that. Whenever…he was a part of Konoha, he would always come visit her when he had the chance and they would shoot comments such as that back and forth to each other. Usually, the little battle ended with the gaki getting pummeled. So instead of engaging in such an off topic argument, she decided to keep her cool.

"We do. I hope Kakashi gave you the synopsis of what the problem is and why we requested you." The Hokage laced her fingers together and placed them under her chin while her elbows rested on the desk.

Naruto's whole expression changed to one of focus and concentration, "He did." He crossed his arms below his chest and leaned on a near-by wall. "I just need to know the details." He said sternly.

"Danzo has been planning something as of late and we need you to infiltrate a warehouse at the edge of town. He owns the place and from my recent reports, it's well guarded."

"What do you think could be in the warehouse?"

"I don't know… that's what I need you to find out."

Naruto nodded his head, showing that he understood the situation. "Are there any other warnings I should be aware of?"

"Besides it being heavily guarded, no."

"Ok, any secondary objectives?"

The Hokage released a sigh, "Make sure not to kill anyone; I think you'll know what will happen if you do."

The blonde's expression turned into one of annoyance, "Yea, yea. Political instability, then war, blah blah blah. You know it's no fun when killing isn't involved, Tsunade-baachan."

A vein appeared on said person's forehead and her mouth twitched a couple times. 'Smartass gaki…' She leaned back in her seat and pinched the bridge of her nose, "I'm serious Naruto."

The male just proceeded to chuckle lightly, "Yea, I know." He then pushed himself off the wall and grabbed his bag that he unceremoniously dropped on the floor when he first entered. "Till next time baa-chan." With a wave of his hand as a temporary farewell, he opened the doors to the office and made his way to the elevator.

'He's changed…' Tsunade thought as she allowed her repressed emotions to take over. Ever since his departure she had missed him and that feeling grew each day he was gone. 'He belongs here and I'd be damned if I let him leave us again.'

The sun had disappeared under the horizon and the moon now dominated the sky. The city of Konoha was shroud in darkness with only the lights from buildings and homes to keep it illuminated. Naruto found himself atop a roof that was across the street from his objective. He was scoping the area out, looking for the shift rotations and patrol patterns of the guards that occupied the vicinity. 'Baa-chan was right; this place is heavily guarded.' The warehouse was surrounded by a concrete wall that was accessorized with barbwire. 'That's real original…' He thought sarcastically. The entrance was composed of a large gate that had two guard towers flanking both sides and a patrol of guards on the ground.

Sighing heavily, Naruto stood up from his crouched position and reached for his duffle bag that lay across from him. Opening it, he pulled out a jet black ballistic vest and slipped it on over his torso, completely covering his upper attire except for the sleeves of his black Kevlar shirt. Next he pulled out a pair of arm pads and knee pads and strapped them to the appropriate appendages. Both pairs of protection were made of a malleable fiberglass, which protects the wearer from any kind of shrapnel and most bullets. Finally, he pulled out his weapon of choice, one being a sharpened combat knife made of lightweight titanium. 'It's no fun when I can't kill anybody…now I have to leave all these weapons in the bag.' He zipped up his mobile 'weapons locker' and jumped down from the roof. Performing a quick roll when he made contact with ground, he stealthily ran to the right side of the concrete wall and edged around the corner. 'The front gate is too heavily guarded for me to break in, so might as well check the back door.' To his dismay, there was a heavy patrol guarding the back entrance, which wasn't a gigantic gate. Two guards were stationed on both sides of the small metal door while another two began to walk in opposite directions. Again to his dismay, the one of the two guards was heading his way.

'So much for not harming anybody…' Naruto thought dryly. The footsteps grew louder and louder until the unaware guard turned the corner. The blonde sprang into action and jabbed the unfortunate man in throat which prevented him from yelling. He followed through with a forceful punch to the face which rendered the man unconscious. Hitching his breath, Naruto caught the man by the arm before he hit the ground and carefully placed the body up against the wall. 'Phew…' he unceremoniously wiped his forehead of imaginable sweat and thanked Kami for his reflexes. It only took seconds for him to regain his focus and he once again looked around the corner. 'Those guards have to go…' As if his demand was heard, both guards began to walk in the opposite direction of where he was. 'Must be a shift rotation…lucky me."

Seizing the opportunity, Naruto made his way around the corner and opened the door to allow him entrance into the inner sanctum of the area. To his upmost annoyance, more guards littered the area; some were talking with each other and others were walking around, obviously patrolling. The warehouse was only a couple hundred meters away and to his relief there was much provided cover to get there. Keeping an eye on the guard's movements, Naruto ran from cover to cover until he made it to the entrance of the warehouse and allowed himself inside.

"Woah…there are _a lot_ of weapons in here…" The teen quietly whispered to himself. Rows upon rows of weapon crates were stacked on top of each other, making the warehouse seem like a maze that was never-ending. Walking up to one of the crates he began to analyze it, looking for any information on the production of the boxed weapons and/or who they would be commissioned to. Only after a few seconds did he find the desired information, only for surprise and confusion to be written all over his face, 'These are weapons from Iwa…and they're being shipped to… Amegakure? What the hell are they doing here?' Shaking his head of his mind's delusions, the blonde opened a supply pouch on his vest and pulled out a small, compact camera. Turning it on, he set the frame so that the whole crate was in its sight and snapped a shot, then he zoomed in on the newly discovered information and repeated the action. Turning off and putting the camera away he continued to walk down the row of crates, examining each of them to see if the information on all of them mimicked that of the first one. His suspicions were satisfied as it was proven to be correct, 'All of these weapons are from the same place and are being shipped to the same place…what is Danzo planning?'

His thoughts were interrupted by an ear-piercing noise that rang throughout the whole area, 'Dammit! Shouldn't have left that body lying there in plain sight…' The blonde ran to the warehouse entrance as fast as he could and upon opening it he swore to the heavens. Right there in front of him were about four patrolmen ready to open the door. Thinking fast, Naruto swept one of them off their feet with a kick; afterwards he swiftly rammed his opposing foot into another guards face, knocking him unconscious. One of the two remaining guards reached for his gun, which was sitting right in his holster, and attempted to pull it out but unfortunately for him, Naruto had grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. During that little moment, the remaining guard successfully pulled the gun from his holster out and brought it up in an attempt to shoot the blonde. With well-trained reflexes, the teen quickly pulled out his knife and threw it…hitting the man in the head. '….Whoops.' Letting the thought pass Naruto finished is onslaught by slamming his elbow into his captive's trapped arm. The attack hit spot on the joint of his elbow, causing the bone to shatter and penetrate the skin. The guard screamed in agony as he fell to the ground holding his now useless arm.

Naruto left the severely injured man on the ground and retrieved his knife from the head of the dead guard before sprinting to the door he first entered from. He readied his shoulder and plowed straight through the door, causing it to swing open ferociously. Quickly, turning on his heel, he ran back across the street to the rooftop of the building he was on prior to entering the area of the warehouse. Not once looking back at the place, he grabbed his duffle bag and began his journey back to the Hokage tower.

The moon was still high in the sky and Tsunade was seated at her desk. Like any other night, she would have a glass of Sake by her side to help relieve some of the stress she had obtained throughout the day, but tonight wasn't one of those nights. She was planning; as soon as her gaki got back with the information she needed, she would convince him to stay longer. This would hopefully give her enough time to talk to the old geezers that made up Konoha's council.

As soon as Naruto left the city without permission he became a marked man and every marked man was hunted down until they were either captured or killed.

"You know baa-chan, I never expected you to be a deep thinker." The familiar voice proceeded to chuckle and that person to which the voice belonged to was leaning against the wall in the far corner of the room.

Tsunade immediately fired back with her own remark, obviously not surprised by the blonde's unexpected presence. "And I didn't know brats like you could be so annoying…" She shot her gaze toward him with a smirk on her face.

"Ouch baa-chan, that hurt." Naruto began to pout and hung his head low to feign sadness.

The Hokage waved him off, "You'll get over it. Now tell me, what have you found?"

Upon hearing the question, Naruto immediately dug through his duffle bag and pulled the compact camera he used not too long ago. "The warehouse was one big weapons cache." His tone was serious and mature. He tossed the camera in Tsunade's direction, which she caught. "I took a photo of a crate as well as the text that was on it."

As the big-breasted woman turned on the camera and displayed the picture, her face lit up in surprise. "These weapons are from Iwagakure? And…they're being shipped to Amegakure!"

"Trust me; I was just as surprised as you are now, but I think I know why they're being shipped there." Naruto got off the wall and walked up to a chair that was parallel to the Hokage's position only to take a seat in it. He leaned back in the chair and put his hands behind his head before he continued, "You see, I was in Amegakure not too long ago due to some contracts I received. Many people in that city wanted other people dead and it just so happens that I killed a member of a certain organization."

"You mean the Akatsuki." Tsunade's sentence was more of an answer than a question. "Who was it that you killed?"

"His name was Zetsu, the bastard put up one hell of a fight…anyway he was talking to someone prior to our encounter. They were conversing about weapons and money but I didn't really pay any mind to the details."

Tsunade laced her fingers together and placed them under her chin, "So you think Akatsuki has some connection with the weapons and Danzo."

"Exactly." He said with a smile.

"Well then I have another contract for you." The blonde gave her a curious albeit skeptical look. "I want you to infiltrate Iwagakure and retrieve any information about their part in this scheme."

"But-"

Tsunade interrupted him, "I also want you to lead a team in case things don't go as planned."

Naruto's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before narrowing, "No, I'd rather go in alone; I'll have an easier time getting in without being caught."

"And what if you _do _get caught?"

"I have my ways of escaping difficult situations…"

"Naruto, I insist you-"

"Tsunade-sama…" Anger was clear in his voice, "I know what you're trying to do and I won't allow it to happen. I don't want deal with them and plus they'll bring up to many memories that I'd rather forget." He stood up abruptly from the chair and grabbed his belongings, "I'll accept the contract with the condition that I do the assignment alone." His voice held no room for argument.

The chocolate-eyed woman released a sigh, "Fine, you'll be briefed tomorrow so report as soon as possible. Other than that you're dismissed." With that said Naruto left the office, intent on finding a place to rest for the night.

Elsewhere in Konoha…

"Who would've thought that training to become a combat medic could be so hard…" Sakura said to herself as she plopped down on her bed. She had been undergoing training in the field ever since the departure of… 'Naruto.' If it wasn't for her stupidity then maybe he wouldn't have left in the first place; the only excuse she had for her actions was that she was young and Kami knows that excuse is used too often. Ever since the day he left she couldn't stop thinking about him. He was her strength, her light, and her resolve and she would do anything to take back what she did. But now, like all times, was not the time to think about the past; she has a whole other day ahead of her tomorrow and Kami was it going to suck.

_Knock, Knock…_

'Ah who the hell is it!' Obviously angered by the person knocking on her door late at night, the pinkette got up from her bed and stomped her way to the door. With a violent twist of the knob she swung the door open, "What!"

Too her slight surprise she found Kakashi on her doorstep with his hands up in mock defence, "Jeez Sakura calm down, I'm just here to deliver a message from Hokage-sama." The scarecrow of a man put his hands down before continuing, "She wants you to report to her office ASAP; she has a mission for you." He finished his explanation with an eye smile.

There was single thought that ran through Sakura's mind as soon as she heard the word 'mission,'

'Shishou better have a good explanation for this!'

End of Chapter 1

Well folks, here's the next installment of 'My Life for Hire.' I hope you enjoyed it and stayed tuned for the next chapter, which should be coming relatively soon. Also, please review and what not; your feedback is always appreciated!

Till next time, this is KotovSyndrome signing off.


	3. The Infiltration of Iwagakure

Hey guys, here's the next chapter to "My Life for Hire." I appreciate the reviews I got from the…three people that reviewed. Thank you for giving your opinions and I hope I see a review on this chapter and the more to come. Anyways, on with the story.

Chapter 2: The Infiltration of Iwagakure

Infiltration missions are extremely dangerous and risky, especially for the individuals that are assigned to them. Even as Naruto made his way to Tsunade's office he was fabricating a plan for the benefit of making the upcoming mission simple and clean. He knew he would have to keep a low profile and that generally meant blending in with the crowd. Another thing would be obtaining the necessary information for his main objective, which would undoubtedly involve communicating with unfamiliar faces.

"Naruto?" The blonde was disturbed from his thoughts by the familiar voice of Shizune. He moved his downward gaze up and locked eyes with the woman. "Is something wrong?"

Naruto shook his head, "No Shizune-neechan, I'm just thinking."

"Are you worried about your mission?"

"No, I'm just trying to come up with a plan." The blonde absentmindedly rubbed the back of his head. "Kami knows I can't go into Iwagakure guns blazing."

Shizune chose to laugh at that, "I don't remember a time when you didn't go in guns blazing."

"Trust me, if dying wasn't a problem I would gladly do that." He said with a little amusement in his voice. "Is baa-chan ready to brief me?"

The Hokage's receptionist nodded, "She's waiting for you inside; head on in when you're ready."

Naruto smiled out of gratitude before walking inside the Kage's office. Upon entrance he noticed a few items on the only desk in the room. One of those items seemed to be a folder which more than likely contained intelligence on a contact that he could get information out of. Another item was a camera that was a little different from his own; at the moment it was unidentifiable when it came to brand or alternative usage. Finally, there was a phone; probably one that was untraceable.

Naruto took his attention away from the objects and looked at the woman that would momentarily brief him on his mission. She was standing and facing away from him, looking out of the buildings enormous glass windows.

"I'm going to try to keep this briefing short so pay close attention." The Hokage spoke with authority clear in her voice. "Your objective is to infiltrate Iwagakure and retrieve any information on why their weapons were in that warehouse. Make sure to keep your identity hidden and remain covert at all times; I think you'll know what will happen if you are caught." Tsunade turned around and stared directly into her fellow blonde's sapphire eyes.

Naruto nodded his head, showing that he understood the risks. She continued the briefing by pointing at the folder that lay on her desk, "That folder contains documents on an informant that has been undercover there for a long period of time. He'll more than likely give you a head start on where to look for the necessary intelligence we need."

Again Naruto nodded.

The Kage proceeded to walk up to the desk and grab the next item in place, which was the obscure camera, "This piece of equipment is exactly what you think it is, but there's more to it. When you snap a photo of something or someone it will scan the photo and give you information on the thing or person you took that photo of." She set the camera down and grabbed the last item on the desk, "Finally, this phone has the informant's number in it and before you ask, it is untraceable. Your informant has a phone similar to this one so you don't have to worry about him being traced." She set the phone down, "Now are there any questions?"

"Just one." Naruto said as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "How the hell am I supposed to get there? Obviously walking is out of the question and I really have no transportation of my own."

Tsunade smirked at his predicament, "That's entirely up to you."

The blonde teen released an overdramatic sigh, "You're cruel."

She chose to ignore the comment, "Any other questions?"

Naruto shook his head and put the three items into his bag before he started to walk off. As soon as he reached the door he was stopped abruptly by his "Baa-chan."

"Naruto…please be careful, this is an S-class mission. If you get caught then I can't help you." At this point the Kage was hugging him from behind.

Naruto, while in the embrace, turned himself around and returned the affectionate action, "Don't worry baa-chan, I promise I'll come back." That simple sentence caused the Hokage to smile. Both of them retracted themselves from each other and before Tsunade knew it, the blue-eyed teen was already in the elevator waiting for the automated doors to close.

Sasuke found himself packing the utensils he needed for the mission he was assigned to. Apparently the Hokage needed himself and Sakura to protect an unknown client for unknown reasons. He was a little annoyed due to the fact that he was on a similar mission not too long ago.

Though it seemed easy, that particular mission didn't go according to plan and it ended with him and his teammates having to kill well-trained, well-armed mercenaries. Though he wasn't injured in any serious way, you could not say the same about his partners. The one medic on his team had received two bullet wounds in his leg and chest as well as lacerations from shrapnel due to a grenade exploding near his position. As far as the black-haired teen knew, his medic had survived the critical wounds and was placed on another team. His support gunner died in the middle of the intense firefight; she received a bullet to the head from a high caliber pistol. Finally, his sniper had to be placed in intensive care after the mission as he was stabbed twice in both of his shoulders while a bullet had penetrated his back and shattered one of the vertebrae in his spine.

Sasuke never found out what happened to him after that…

The Uchiha closed his eyes and released a sigh; no matter how many times he tried to forget that incident, it always came back to haunt him. 'The quicker this mission is over with, the better.' He thought.

…

Naruto, at the moment, was upset. He had to steal yet another car in order to get where he had to be. Not only that but he knew he would have to ditch the car a few miles out from Iwagakure due to the Konoha license plate on it, which excludes him from having a vehicle to escape. Yea, upset was the right word. 'Damn you Baa-chan, I'll get you back for this.'

Because of this nuisance, it was going to make the mission a lot tougher than what it originally had to be. Releasing a sigh, the blonde haired teenager continued driving toward his destination.

The night now ruled the setting as the moon shone brightly in the sky with the stars being its only companions. Naruto had been driving for a considerate amount of time…hours to be exact, but his stop was in sight as the tall, colossal towers of Iwagakure came into view.

With reluctance, he pulled over on the side of the road and turned off the engine. Grabbing his bag and other utensils he got out of the car and shut the door. "The city's only a few miles out so the walk shouldn't be too bad."

…..

"Sakura remember, this is a high priority mission and we need to keep a low profile so don't blow your cover."

"I know Sasuke, I won't lose my head so don't worry about it." The dark-haired boy smiled at her smartass response. Ever since his forceful return to his hometown he and the pinkette have been repairing their broken relationship. He was glad that they were back on the friendship level, hell it may even be to the point where they consider each other siblings.

"We're almost there, are you ready?"

"You bet I am, Shannaro!"

….

Naruto was star struck at the pure beauty of the city known as Iwagakure. Grant it, it still didn't compare to his hometown but it was up there. Just like Konoha, Iwa proudly displayed its collection of brightly lit buildings and lively population. The blonde shook himself out of his fascinated state and began his objective of looking for the informant he was informed of. Without hesitation, he pulled out the cellular device he was given and dialed the only available number on it.

_Ring, Ring, Ring…_

"_Hello?"_

Wait…that voice sounds familiar, "Jiraiya?"

"_The one and only…wait a sec, Naruto?"_

"Hey you old pervert, I didn't know you were the informant."

"_Of course I am! Who else would it be!"_

"Someone who would stop being a pervert and start doing their job." Naruto responded with sarcasm.

"_Damare you gaki! Now listen carefully, meet me at the Akuma no b__ā__ (Devil's bar). There's a back room where we'll meet."_

"Ok, but where the hell is the bar located?"

"_On the other side of the city in the slums; now hurry up, I don't have all day."_

Naruto released a sigh and closed the flip-phone. He should have figured he would be in the slums; there was a less of a chance of him being caught not only for spying, but for being a pervert as well. To be honest, the teen was surprised the meeting place wasn't in a brothel or strip club. Not to make the old geezer too upset, he speedily walked to the newly known destination.

The slums was a place where the poorest of the poor lived and Iwagakure's slums definitely enforced that stereotype. This part of the city consisted of not houses, but shacks; In fact it could be labeled as more as a shanty town than anything. The neighborhoods were highly unkempt along with the people that lived there. As Naruto walked among the streets of the slums, he was receiving stares and glances from the men, women, and children of his surroundings. It was like they knew that he wasn't from the city, even though he was keeping himself under the radar. It was unnerving to say the least but he didn't show how uncomfortable he was. Instead he chose to look straight ahead and kept a stern expression on his face.

Only about a few feet ahead of him was his destination. 'Akuma no bā…this is one hell of a shady looking place." The establishment's exterior consisted of a few barred windows that were detailed with cracks, probably from previous bar fights or vandalism. The outside walls of the structure were cracked as well and the paint was chipped in most areas. Finally, the sign that read the bar's name generally blinked on and off which only added to the contrast of shadiness.

Naruto swiftly opened the door which made a small bell near the doors frame to reverberate a noise as an indication of a new or returning customer. The bartender that was cleaning the counter of his station looked up as the noise reached his ears, "Hello and welcome to Akuma no bā."

"Hi." Was the blondes quick reply as he walked pass the counter and toward the back of the bar. The bartender looked incredulously at the passing figure and proceeded to shrug his shoulders as he returned to his original task.

Naruto found himself in front of an iron door that unoriginally had a rectangular slot that was covered by a sheath of metal. He pounded on the large metal door and almost instantly did the slit open to reveal a pair of eyes that were familiar to the blonde, "Come on in gaki." The old pervert unclasped a few locks and opened the door and in return the teen made his way into a seemingly small room.

Jiraiya closed and relocked the door, only to turn around and find Naruto staring right in his eyes, as if waiting for the information he needed. But he mistook his eyes as the blonde smiled broadly and crossed his arms all before dropping his bag on the ground.

"Hey you old pervert, long-time no see."

"It has been a while huh brat?" he responded with playfulness.

"Three years to be exact; have you been here the whole time?"

"Not necessarily, but I'll talk about my travels and what not with you later; right now, I need to tell you where to start looking."

Naruto shook his head in slight amusement, "You're right, you probably want me out of here so you can go spy on more women."

A frown found its way onto the white-haired man's face, "I told you that my spying is for research."

The blonde just rolled his eyes, "Yeah, sure; now tell me where I can start searching."

Jiraiya cleared his throat before relaying the necessary information, "Now listen up gaki, when you first came into the city did you spot a small building labeled Kogata Buki (Small Arms)?"

"Considering that this city is huge, I highly doubt it." Naruto deadpanned.

"Alright fine, anyway that establishment is just a branch store of the Iwagakure no Kokuritsu Āmuzu (National Arms of Iwagakure)."

Naruto immediately responded, "I'm guessing the shipments don't come out of the main office building, but the branch office right?"

Jiraiya smiled at his ex-student's thinking, "Exactly."

"So that means that there has to be some sort of information as to why the weapons from this city are being transferred to Amegakure." The old pervert nodded with a smile still plastered on his face. "Well, it's a start. Where exactly is the branch office at?"

"It's in the business district near the middle of town; you won't miss it due to its obvious indications."

"Right." Naruto picked up his bag of utilities, "Thanks for the information Jiraiya, I'll see you soon once I've retrieved what I need." He walked to the door and nonchalantly undid the locks on it.

"Hey gaki."

The blonde stopped what he was doing and looked over his shoulder, "Hm?"

"Be careful, there's no doubt in my mind that that place has security up the ass."

Naruto chose to laugh at the assumption, "I wouldn't doubt it." With that said, he undid the final lock and disappeared from Jiraiya's sight.

….

Naruto Uzumaki was currently situated outside of Kogata Buki and even though it was a branch office, it was decently large. Giving a quick guess a person would have to say that the business was at least twenty-three or twenty-four stories high. This did create a problem as the shipment documents could be stored on any floor. Another problem would be getting to that designated floor without attracting too much attention.

'Then again, who said things would be easy.'

There was really no point in barging through the front doors and demanding to know where the documents were, though it would make things a lot easier. So it would have to be option two, going in through the back door.

Naruto hastily made his way toward the back of the lot and to his obvious assumption; there was a fire escape that more than likely contained a stairwell. The blonde cautiously grabbed the doorknob to the fire escape and turned it, causing the door to open slowly. Inside was indeed a stairwell that led straight to the top of the structure.

'How convenient…' The blonde thought as he inwardly rolled his eyes.

Wasting no time, Naruto practically jogged up the flight of stairs until he reached a door labeled twenty-three, which was the top floor of the building. As if he wasn't intruding, he calmly walked through the door and was greeted by what seemed to be a large lounge or middle room. Surrounding the room were offices, to which none were labeled.

Confusion clouded the teen's mind, 'That's odd…What kind of room is this?'

As if trying to answer his own question, Naruto walked up to one of the many surrounding doors and twisted the knob. To his surprise the door was unlocked and with little force he flung the door open.

'What..the…hell?' The blonde's eyes widened significantly.

This single room was not at all an office; instead it was a room filled with explosives. Most were unidentifiable due to the fact that the blue-eyed teen has never seen such devices in his entire life.

"I wonder if all the rooms are like this." He whispered to himself as he walked to the room next to the one prior. Again, to his slight surprise the room was indeed filled with explosive ordinance.

"I see you've found my wonderful pieces of art." A voice reverberated through the air, causing Naruto to turn on his heel and pull out a handgun that was modified with a silencer, which was conveniently located in a holster that was modified to be fitted on the torso. The blonde already had the weapon aimed at the assailant's forehead.

"Deidara…" was the only word/name that came out of Naruto's mouth.

The now identified man raised a finger and began waving it, "Nah-ah-ah, I wouldn't shoot if I were you." In Deidara's unused hand he was holding some sort of trigger. Using his thumb he flipped one of the many switches on the device. The ordinance in the room suddenly lit up and beeping noises could clearly be heard from each one of the explosives. "In my hand is a pressure trigger, so if you shoot me now, my hand will release any tension held on it. Simply put, we both go bye-bye."

"That is a good enough reason not to shoot you, but that doesn't mean I'm going to take this iron sight off your forehead."

"So it seems we're at a stalemate."

Naruto gave a small shrug, "It seems like we are."

"You know Uzumaki, we've been looking for you for quite a while now." Deidara produced a crazed like grin.

"Any reasons as to why?" Naruto's face was stern and cold; never will he show his curiosity or any other emotion to the enemy.

"You play a large role in our plans, but let's not discuss any details." The long haired man took a step out of the doorway and proceeded to walk toward the middle of the room, with Naruto following close behind him. "Now I'm guessing you're here for documents, am I right?"

"How do you know?" The teen asked suspiciously as he narrowed his eyes.

"Again, enough with the details; it's a yes or no question." No response was heard which caused the Akatsuki member to smile once again, "You're stubborn, just like every other Konoha soldier I've come across."

Naruto chuckled at the insult, "The funny thing about that is I'm not a part of Konoha anymore."

"Is that so?" Deidara turned around to look his enemy directly in the eyes. "That answers a lot of questions then, but enough with the small talk." Deidara quickly reached within his pockets and pulled out an already armed grenade. "Catch!" he yelled maniacally and through the grenade directly at his opponent.

Time seemed to slow down as the cooked explosive neared toward Naruto's face. Relying on his reflexes he initiated a roll to dodge the projectile and let it detonate behind him, but without any warning the explosive set off right beside him, causing his body to be flung right into a wall. The blonde let out a silent yell as pain reverberated throughout his body.

The shock of the impact was causing his vision to blur and as he made contact with the ground his mind almost slipped into unconsciousness. Slowly, he picked himself up and instantly looked for his handgun. To his dismay it was on the other side of the room and before he could think of a plan to get it, the sound of a ring being flung off of a grenade hit his ears.

End of Chapter 2

Well guys here you go. Stayed tuned for next chapter and witness the battle between Deidara and Naruto. I'm sorry for the long wait and I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. Till next time, Ja Ne!


	4. Destruction at Its Finest

Hello everybody and here's another chapter to "My Life for Hire." I'm sorry for the looooooong wait but I have been busy with college and work. This chapter may leave you with a lot of questions but they will be answered later on within the story. Now on with said story.

If I haven't clarified it yet then I do not own Naruto or any of the characters associated with the series. If I did magical things would happen.

Chapter 3: Destruction at Its Finest

"Shit."Naruto mumbled under his breath as he was currently hiding behind an already damaged pillar. He took one look at himself and noticed the damage that was brought upon him from the attack that instigated this battle. Pieces of shrapnel were lodged into his legs and arms and there was no doubt that he had a broken rib or two. To make matters worse, his weapon was still on the other side of the room and unless he wanted to be blown to pieces, there was no possible way of getting to it.

"Come on Uzumaki!" Deidara yelled as he laughed maniacally, "You surely can put up more of a fight than this!"

The bastard was still situated at the center of the room and in no way was he trying to look for his enemy. 'He's messing with me…' Naruto thought while trying to ignore the physical pain that engulfed his body. Since that crazed maniac was unaware of his current position, now was the time to formulate a plan and almost instantly did one come to his head as his hand rested on his knife.

'Let's hope this works, because if not them I'm completely screwed.' Slowly, he pulled the knife out of its sheath and stoop up with his eyes on Deidara. "Hey! Lunatic!"

Said person whipped around and found his target only a few feet away from him, "So you decided to come out of hiding!" As soon as those words left his mouth, the Akatsuki member already through a grenade. Expecting such a thing, Naruto instantly threw his knife. What happened next surprised both members of the battle-scarred room. The handle of the knife and the grenade collided causing both objects to be sent back to their owner with less force than before. The Grenade landed only a couple feet away from Deidara and as a reaction he turned to roll out of the way. Unfortunately for him, the grenade exploded during mid-roll, forcing his body to be flung in the air.

Naruto's combat knife had hit the ground and slid until making a stop only few inches ahead of him. He was amazed that his plan had actually worked, but all thoughts of celebration flew out the window as the grenade that was previously deflected, exploded. The force of the reaction was more than expected and consequently Naruto was thrown off his feet…with the tip of his knife following in close behind. For the second time during this battle, his back hit off of the rooms many walls. Pain instantly made itself noticeable throughout his body and not even a millisecond later did it intensify tenfold. Looking down, the blonde spotted his own knife impaled through his stomach. Slowly, did he slide down the wall until he the ground and lackadaisically did blood start pouring out from his wound.

"Damn…it" He said, not above a whisper. He forced his gaze upward and saw his enemy on the other side of the room trying to pull himself up.

Though his vision was blurred intensely and his body screamed in pain, Naruto slowly began to stand. In a sloth like manner, he began to walk toward his enemy and as far as he could see, the explosives expert was losing just as much blood as he was.

Deidara got hit with the full force of the explosion which no doubt caused the bones in his back to fracture or break. Not only that, but the shrapnel from the object was implanted within his back as well, causing lacerations and possible internal bleeding.

Reaching the body of his enemy, the sapphire-eyed teen grabbed him by his collar and lifted him off the ground. "Now you're going to tell me what your organization is planning." He growled.

Deidara elicited a dark chuckle, "Looks like your dying." He said as he observed his fellow blonde.

"I could say the same to you." The teen ground out through clenched teeth. The pain was getting worse and he was losing blood by the second. Taking one hand off of Deidara's collar, he grabbed the knife that impaled his stomach and slowly pulled it out, only for it to drop to the floor with a 'clank.' "Now tell me! What are you guys planning?"

"I think it's time for the grand finale." The Akatsuki member responded with another chuckle. "I think you remember the little device I had in my hand earlier?" Slowly, he lifted both of his hands up to reveal that he had no such device in his hand.

Naruto's eyes widened significantly and the sound of the explosives in the surrounding rooms began to beep rapidly. Using his remaining strength he threw his enemy toward the ground and bolted toward the only exit, which was the door leading to the stairwell. Just before he could grab the handle and open it, the ordinance detonated and the force of the explosion caused the blonde to be thrown through the designated door. His back hit off of the wall of stairwell and he forcefully rolled down a single flight of steps.

This time his mind slipped into unconsciousness and the last thing he saw were flames roaring out of the doorway he was previously blasted through.

….

"What the hell!" Sasuke yelled as he gazed upon the tall structure known as Kogata Buki. The top of the serene building was now a blaze as an explosion unceremoniously erupted from it. The explosion rocked the whole city and the once happy civilians that littered the streets were now panicking and scrambling to get out of the area.

"The client is in there!" Sakura yelled, snapping her teammate out of his stupor. Both soldiers hastily grabbed their equipment and shot out of their parked vehicle.

The teammates sprinted into the building while pushing and shoving the panicked employees out of the way. Spotting a stairwell, they instantly ran in and up the stairs while noting that it was becoming harder to breathe. Only after a few minutes did they reach the top and Sasuke forcefully kicked down the door.

They were greeted with the sight of total destruction as the floor's roof was blown clean off, giving both soldiers a clear view of blue sky. There were small flames throughout the middle of the room while the rooms that surrounded said area were ignited in the deadly force of nature.

"Sakura look." The dark-haired team almost shouted as he pointed toward the ground. The pinkette did as she was told and looked at the battle-scarred floor only to find small puddles of blood that formed into a trail.

"It leads into the fire escape." She concluded.

"Alright, you check the area for any evidence of what triggered the explosion; I'll follow the trail and see where it ends." The pinkette gave a slight nod showing that she understood and the both of them started on their objectives.

Sakura began her investigation by checking the brightly lit rooms that surrounded the area. As she surveyed each room from its doorway, she spotted fragments of shrapnel that probably originated from detonated grenades. The next area she observed was the middle room itself and to her surprise, she spotted a knife that was imbedded in one of the walls. She slowly walked up to the object and with one hand she dislodged the weapon from its prison. Examining the blade she found that there was fresh blood on it and such liquid went all the way down to the weapons handle.

"Sakura! Get down here now!" Came the terrified voice of her comrade. With speed she didn't know she had, she quickly ran into the fire escape and down the stairs. What she saw next made her heart stop; lying there in a pool of his own blood was the one man she thought she'd never see again.

"Don't just stand there; we need to help him!" Sasuke yelled in frustration. "Help me pick him up so we can get him back to the safe house!"

Sakura, in response, nodded as she was not able to form words. Carefully, the both of them hoisted there unconscious ex-teammate onto his feet while wrapping one of his arms around their shoulders and carried him to their car.

….

Naruto groggily opened one eye and immediately shut it due to the sun's rays shining directly onto his face. He tried to roll over on his side but found it difficult to do so as pain made itself noticeable on his abdomen. Once again, he tried to open his eyes and found success in doing so as he scanned his surroundings.

'Where the hell am I?' This place didn't seem familiar at all; it wasn't a hospital that's for sure, as everything in the room wasn't painted white and it didn't look like a prison cell. This room was more like a bedroom, there was a dresser parallel to the bed with a TV hanging right over it and there was a bathroom that was adjacent to the room's doorway.

Unexpectedly, the bedrooms door swung open and in came a person that made the blonde's eyes widen slightly.

"I see you're awake, dobe."

All feeling of surprise left Naruto's body as quickly as it came and his eyes narrowed out of malice, "Where am I?" his tone was low and filled with anger.

"All you need to know is that you're safe." The dark-haired boy stated simply. "Now you should rest; we'll be heading back to Konoha by tomorrow morning."

"Unfortunately for you, I'm not going." Naruto sternly said as he tried to sit up, but found it hard to do so thanks to his injuries. "I still have a mission to complete," he said through clenched teeth as he slowly but surely managed to sit up straight.

Sasuke released a sigh and opted to lean his back against the doorway he was currently standing under, "I see you're still a stubborn idiot." He said in an antagonizing nature; this notion was something Sasuke would do on a normal basis back when they were an official team and he was hoping the simple insult would rile something deep inside the blonde. Unfortunately for him, that was not the case.

"I'm a mercenary Sasuke…and I have certain obligations to meet." Naruto pulled the covers from his legs and allowed his feet to touch the cold hardwood floor. "Now, where is my equipment?"

Crossing his arms, Sasuke chose to answer his question, "All of your things are in the next room."

Nodding his head, the blonde slowly stood up and made his way to the designated area which was a small living room and to the right of the male was the closet he was told of. Almost absentmindedly, he opened the closet and began putting his gear on. With pain shooting up his torso, he put on a white tea-shirt, which covered up the injuries on his back and his bandaged chest. Next, he put on jeans that were outfitted with anti-shrapnel material and finally he topped off his clothing set with his combat boots.

"You and I both know you shouldn't continue this mission." Sasuke said abruptly, causing Naruto to turn around and stare at him. The charcoal-eyed soldier couldn't read or find any emotions through the blonde's gaze…and that was disturbing.

"That's where you're wrong." Naruto responded in a neutral tone. He didn't speak any further for there was nothing else to say. Both he and his ex-teammate lead different lives and in the blonde's opinion, that's what Sasuke had to understand. "You and Haruno go back to Konoha and tell Tsunade that I don't need any help."

"How do you know that she's with me?" Sasuke's eyes widened momentarily before returning back to their original state.

"I'm not the same idiot that I was before." Naruto said as he strapped an ammo pouch to his left thigh, "If the Hokage sent you then I know she would send Sakura as well." He proceeded to strap another ammo pouch to his right leg, putting it in the same place as the previous one. "Now tell me," he continued, "Before you found me, did you discover a body in the aftermath of the explosion?"

Sasuke's face contorted into confusion for a mere second before he answered the question with a simple, "No."

"Then he must have escaped." Just when the blonde thought he had killed another member of the Akatsuki, he was proven wrong. Now the consequences of Deidara being alive were dangerous as he would more than likely want a rematch of their destructive battle. Even more consequential was the fact that his cover could be blown if such an event were to take place. "Go back to Konoha, Sasuke." He commanded in the same neutral tone as before, "I don't need your help and neither will I with missions to come."

"You're being stubborn!" came a voice from the hall way that ran past the room that both teens were currently in. Not more than a second later did the pinkette known as Sakura appear in the doorway. Naruto's expression completely turned ice cold and no emotions could be read through his abnormally dark blue eyes. Upon seeing such abnormality with the blonde, Sakura's rebel words were caught in the back of her throat.

Catching on to the female's predicament, Naruto immediately spoke up, "You two will leave and discontinue your mission," his eyes shifted from Sakura, back to Sasuke, "As I said before, tell Tsunade that I don't need any help with this mission." Once again his gaze reverted back to the pinkette in the doorway, "I need to leave and report back to my informant-"

A beam of light instantly hit the mercenary's eye which forced him to discontinue his sentence. Quickly, he turned his head toward the only window in the room and not too far out from the house did he spot a person who from the looks of it had a scoped weapon. Acting on instinct, words targeted toward his old teammates blurted from his mouth, "Get out of the room!"

Almost instantaneously did the sound of a controlled explosion it his ears and at that moment did he rush toward the door and push both Sasuke and Sakura from the proximity of the room. A Rocket propelled grenade busted through the window and hit the left side of the bed head on, causing the belongings and walls of the room to be blown to pieces in a sporadic explosion. The force of the chemical reaction caused Naruto's body to be flung in mid-air for a short distance before he hit the wall of the houses' hallway.

Holding back a yell, his back ricocheted off the wall and he fell to the ground. With a growl of irritation, the blonde forced himself up and immediately looked around for the other two occupants of the structure. He found Sasuke picking himself up and grabbing his sidearm from his holster while Sakura mimicked the Uchiha but instead, reached for her bull pup assault rifle that was strapped to her torso. Both soldiers of Konoha instantly ran left of the hallway and fell back into a seemingly larger room.

Naruto followed close behind and instantly took cover behind a counter that was facing the way of which the RPG was shot from. Again, another controlled explosion was heard and almost instantly did another rocket make contact with the room that Naruto was hospitalized in.

"We need to get out of this house ASAP or we'll all be dead by the time we get a chance to spot the enemy!" the blonde yelled. The two other occupants of the house nodded and quickly reacted to Naruto's demand as they bolted out of the house's front door. The blue-eyed teen himself sprang into action and followed suit and as soon as he got outside, he spotted his two ex-teammates behind a large bolder that was opposing the attacker's direction. He quickly ran over to them and slid into cover whilst breathing heavily due to un-healed injuries.

Taking a moment to catch his breath Naruto finally began to speak in a quiet tone, "The both of you listen to me…leave, now. I'll take care of whoever is attacking us, which will provide you time to escape in whatever vehicle you have.

"But what about you?" Sakura asked in a worried tone, "We can't just leave you here; you're our team-"

"Was your teammate," he interrupted, "And there's no time to argue about this. Whoever is attacking us is well hidden and we have yet to spot him. Hopefully, he's thinking that we're still inside the house."

"What happens if there are multiple hostiles and not just one?" This time Sasuke asked a question, slight worry was laced in his tone as well.

"If that's the case then I'll have to come up with a new plan…" the blonde stated as he released a quiet sigh, "Now go!"

Both soldiers of Konoha looked at each other as if debating on following through with their comrade's demands or defying his request and staying to help him. Only a few seconds later did both of them make their minds up and quietly stood from their crouched position in order to take off. Sasuke was the first to leave, sprinting toward the front of the lot which more than likely led to the vehicle they had. On the other hand, Sakura stayed behind for a few more seconds and stared at the mercenary with almost a pleading look before she finally forced herself to follow her fellow soldier. Before disappearing into the brush she reverberated a sentence loud enough for the blonde to hear.

"Please don't die." The tone of her voice matched that of the look she had on her face prior to running off.

Naruto heaved another large sigh as he prepared himself to run back toward the house to grab his remaining belongings. Counting to three in his head, he bolted up straight and putting every ounce of energy in his legs, he sprinted toward the house. As soon as he reached the front door, another rocket was set off, causing him to dive through doorway. 'Phew, that was a close one.' He thought as the rocket would have hit him dead on if it were not for the action he successfully pulled off. With haste, he ran back into the room he was in before the first rocket was set off and found that the closet that contained his gear was still intact. Once again, another rocket was fired and with speed he didn't know he had, Naruto grabbed his weapon and dashed out of the room. The RPG hit spot on and completely obliterated that area of the house, causing the buildings structure to weaken and become more fragile.

'Another rocket will definitely cause this place to collapse; I need to get out of here.' Following through with his initial thought he ran back out of the house and took cover behind the same boulder he was previously at. Whoever was shooting at him was well hidden and no doubt he or she was an expert with such heavy ordinance.

The area surrounding the safe house could be definitely labeled as forest which in turn, made it ten times harder to spot the enemy, especially if he/she sported a ghillie suit and if the person was smart he/she would switch positions after discharging there weapon in order prevent themselves from being detected.

'I'm going to have to see where the weapon will discharge next…and that means running out in the open…great.' With a deep breath the blonde prepared himself before he ran out in plain sight, and as predicted the assailant shot a rocket from his/her hiding place.

Instantly, Naruto changed the direction in which he was running and made his way toward where the weapon was discharged. Due to his keen eye and perception, he saw the slight movement of an arm before it disappeared. 'The arm seemed to be directed toward the left…'

The blonde ran into the bushes and quickly bolted left in pursuit of his attacker. Only a few seconds into the pursuit did he hear the breaking of a twig and almost abruptly did he stop. Swinging around on his foot he spotted the large weapon that he labeled earlier being pointed at his being. The person holding the weapon was indeed outfitted in a ghillie suit with a balaclava covering his/her face.

Naruto's nervousness was indeed displayed on his face but only slightly, "Who are you?" he growled.

"That…is none of your concern." The voice was that of a female.

The blonde's eyes narrowed, "You do know if you shoot that at this distance then you will die as well." The culprit did not respond, "That's the consequence of having ordinance like that; it's useless in close range combat."

Without hesitation Naruto leaped forward and grabbed the weapon by its neck and proceeded to lift it upward. As a reaction to such a move the woman accidently discharged the weapon causing the rocket to shoot off into the sky. In an instantaneous manner, the blue-eyed mercenary let go of the weapon and swept his enemy off of her feet with his right leg. Kneeling down, he brought his knife to her neck, "Now…are you going to tell me who you are?"

"If you're planning to scare me," she stated, "then you should try harder; I'm not afraid to die."

"Then I'll have to take you back to Konoha in order for you to meet someone that'll make you beg for death." Naruto said with malice.

Here's chapter 3 and once again I apologize for the long long wait. As I said at the beginning of this chapter, you may have a lot of questions and concerns about the plot or what not but they will be answered and nullified later on in the story, but if you do have questions and what not leave a comment and I will respond back. Till next time, folks!


	5. Confrontations and Interrogation

Hey everybody, I decided to put "Savior" on hold for a while due to this story but it will be updated as soon as I can work on both stories at the same time. Anyways that's all I have to say, so on with the story.

Oh and I don't own Naruto or any of the characters associated with series…but goddammit I can always dream.

Chapter 4: Confrontations and Interrogation

"Hey Baa-chan." Naruto greeted the Hokage in a calm voice as he walked through the office's large doors. Tsunade swiftly turned around in her chair and took her eyes off the view of the beautiful city; a most curious expression was displayed on her face.

"What are you here for gaki?"

The blonde decided to take a seat in the chair parallel to her position before answering, "Has there been any news on the interrogation?"

The Hokage shook her head in disappointment and followed through with a sigh, "She hasn't spoken since she's got here. Whoever she works for taught her not to leak any information out no matter the situation."

Pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, Naruto lifted his feet and placed them upon the Hokage's desk, "We need to get that information out of her soon; I can't delay my mission any longer than I have too."

"Why don't you see if you can get anything out of her?" Tsunade suggested.

The blonde teen looked up at her in confusion, "Me? I'm not known to be an interrogator Baa-chan, I doubt I'll even be able to make her flinch let alone get her to spill information."

"You never know Naruto." Was her only response.

Letting his confusion subside, the mercenary put his pointer finger and thumb under his chin and began to think. If even Anko wasn't able to squeeze information out of her then how could he possibly do it? Sure, throughout his mercenary career he had to interrogate many people as that's what some of his contracts requested him to do. The only reason why he successfully extracted information out of his captives was because they were all afraid of death; but the fear of death did not trouble his recent attacker one bit.

Sighing a bit, the blonde decided to let the subject go for the moment and chose to stand up from his seated position, "I'll see you later Baa-chan."

"Are you going to interrogate that woman yourself?"

"No. Not yet." Was his answer before he walked out of the office, leaving his surrogate parent to herself.

…

Midday had just arrived as the sun was high in the sky, acting as a watchful eye over Konoha. Naruto found himself inside his temporary apartment in deep thought while sitting on the shelter's couch. His battle with the unknown female took place a little over a month ago and to be able to not leak any information for that long of a time is a real troubling thought.

Giving the assumption, she probably was a hireling for the Akatsuki, but then again that wouldn't make sense after what Deidara said,

"_You play a large role in our plans."_

Surely they wouldn't have him killed if such a statement was true.

Naruto shook his head in frustration in an attempt to clear his mind of such complicated thoughts and focus on what Tsunade told him not two hours ago. 'I don't know how I'm going to get that woman to talk due to her stubbornness. She almost reminds me of myself three years ago.' He laughed after that thought; her stubbornness was similar to his when he was still a part of team 7. No matter what the situation was the blonde would never surrender because that's just how he was. You can still say he held on to such a trait after the three years but it was barely noticeable due to his maturity.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door in which the teen stood up and walked up to the large piece of wood to open it. To his surprise Kakashi was standing beneath the doorway with his signature eye-smile on his face.

"Yo!" he greeted in a somewhat cheerful tone which confused Naruto a bit. He wasn't normally a cheerful person…in fact he was always mellow and nonchalant about everything.

"What do you want Kakashi?" was the blonde's neutral response with his confusion perfectly hidden.

Keeping his emotional pain under the radar, the scarecrow of a team leader kept his expression on his covered face, "I wanted to stop by to see how you were doing…May I come in?"

Naruto shrugged and stepped to the side to allow the soldier in. Kakashi proceeded to walk into the living room of the small apartment and take a seat on the couch that the blonde was recently on. Naruto slowly closed the front door and followed his ex-captain into for-mentioned room, opting himself to sit on the chair parallel to the couch.

An uncomfortable silence filled the air as the blonde mercenary stared at the white haired man with impatience. Kakashi on the other hand was silent due to not knowing what to say. Excluding the conversation, or more yet, briefing at the bar prior to Naruto's return back to the city, this moment was the first time they had sat face to face in three years. So at the moment, the team captain was having trouble in instigating a conversation.

Due to such a long silence Naruto chose to be the one to break it, "It's been a while hasn't it?"

Kakashi shot his eyes toward the blonde and showcased his infamous smile of the eye, "It has, we haven't really had a chance to sit down and truly talk to one another." He shifted his position on the couch in slight discomfort due to the blonde's unwavering gaze, "I heard about your battle in Iwagakure."

"How?" the blue-eyed teen asked with no hint of surprise or shock in his tone, it sounded more demanding than anything.

"Sakura told me; though I don't know any details she explained what damage was caused to Kogata Buki and to your body."

Naruto furrowed his brows in frustration, he really didn't feel like explaining what happened nor did he want to reveal the identity of his enemy, "So you're still captain of team 7 huh?" he quickly tried to change the subject.

Catching on to his ex-students plan the white-haired man sighed and opted to answer his question, "Of course I am; I won't be leaving the cell for a while."

"How are things going with your team?" the blondes tone did not change.

"Good. We returned from an escort mission to Kirigakure not too long ago."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the newly required knowledge, "How was that?"

Kakashi leaned back into the couch and folded his arms before answering, "The trip there went smoothly until we hit the borders of the city. A few hired mercenaries attacked us just before we could enter its gates but we easily neutralized them. Other than that the mission was a success."

A small amount of curiosity peaked through the blonde's neutral expression, "What company did the mercenaries belong too?"

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders, "I have no clue. There uniforms didn't suggest anything nor did they identify themselves. All I know is that they had peculiar camouflage on." Naruto stayed silent and gave the soldier a look telling him to describe the camouflage, "It was a type of urban camouflage which consisted of black, blue, and red. The colors were orchestrated in DPM (Disruptive Pattern Material)."

The blonde's brows rose slightly, "That particular group consisted of the remnants of Gato's men from back when we went to Nami no Kuni (Land of Waves)."

"How do you know?" The scarecrow of a man asked curiously.

"I ran into them myself two years ago. I was given a contract to kill a tyrant of a local city in Mizu no Kuni." The mercenary released a sigh of annoyance, "Ironically enough the tyrant had placed a bounty on my head because he somehow knew the mission details of my contract. Those men you fought were the first to accept the bounty due to them wanting some sort of justice for me stopping their only source of payment. They tried to ambush me at the entrance of the city but I took care of them with little effort." He took a short breath before continuing, "Anyway, if they had the audacity to attack your team then that only means they were after your client. So tell me…who were you escorting?"

Kakashi smiled underneath his balaclava, "Inari."

Hearing that name certainly stirred something within the blonde. A warm smile covered his face as memories of the little brat filled his mind. After the mission to Nami no Kuni, he basically labeled the little squirt as his surrogate little brother. "How is he doing?"

"Just fine; he needed to go to Kirigakure in order to sign a trading contract and allow free trade from that city to his homeland."

"Hm." Was Naruto's only response.

Silence once again took control of the atmosphere and only a few minutes later did Kakashi break it, "Naruto…" said blonde looked straight in to his eyes, "Me, Sasuke, and Sakura planned a get together at Ichiraku's tonight..." though Kakashi doubted his ex-student would agree to such an offer, he asked anyway, "Would you like to join us? They've been wanting to see you…well…ever since they saw you last."

Naruto was a bit taken back by the offer but nonetheless did he stop and think about the possible outcomes of the meeting. Just like with Kakashi, if he did go, it would be the first time he has truly spoken to them in three years. No doubt would it be awkward…But the main reason behind the negativity toward going to such an event would be his anger. His two teammates were the main cause of his banishment and seeing them again would no doubt anger him beyond belief.

The voice of Kakashi interrupted his thoughts, "You can't avoid them forever Naruto, I know what happened is a form of betrayal and I know you hold a grudge because of that. But if you go tonight then you will see how sorry they truly are."

"It's not that simple Kakashi…the banishment only resembles a small portion of my anger toward them. When I thought I could consider Sasuke my rival and…my brother he turns around and shoves it all back in my face by trying to kill me. Ever since I brought him back something inside me began to break and only did it shatter when Sakura accuse me of trying to kill Sasuke when it was the other way around…"

"Naurto…" Hearing this...melancholic confession brought a saddened expression to Kakashi's face, "The three of you were young; the both of them didn't take the consequences of their actions into consideration."

As if not hearing his ex-captains response, Naruto continued to explain the reasons behind his hostility toward his former team, "I brought him back just as I promised and yet…she didn't even acknowledge that accomplishment."

"Seeing him in that state shocked her and without thinking of what he might have done to you, she deemed you responsible for his condition when he undoubtedly brought it upon himself. Though you have to understand, Sakura was completely shaken by Sasuke's departure beforehand due to how she felt toward him."

"Then who's to blame Kakashi, huh?" Kakashi remained silent for he couldn't answer the question, "You make it sound like everything is still my fault…" the blonde whispered coherently.

"I'm not making it sound like it's your fault….look, what I'm trying to say is that you need to confront them in order to forgive them."

"Who says I want to forgive them…?"

"It's not the matter of "whom" but "what" wants to forgive them. I know on the outside you wear your grudge like it's imprinted on your skin…but deep down you don't want to suffer the pain of your confusion anymore."

Naruto chose to laugh at that, he was amused and slightly angered by the scarecrow's response and topic of the conversation, "So you're trying to tell me that my heart wants to forgive them…if that isn't the most cliché thing I've ever heard then I don't know what is."

"Cliché or not it's the truth." Kakashi chose to stand up, giving Naruto the assumption that he was done talking, and began to walk toward the front door of the apartment only to stop and look over his shoulder, "Trust them Naruto." And with that he opened the door and walked out of the complex.

Heaving a large sigh the blonde pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. In a way the white-haired man was right, he can't always live in the past and forgiveness is the only option in escaping such emotional torment. Finalizing his decision, he got up and grabbed an orange over-shirt to put on over his tank top before walking out of the door of his temporary apartment.

'My forgiveness will be earned… not given.'

…..

Frustrated was the only word to describe Anko's mood right now. Her interrogation of the woman that was captured by the blonde gaki was not going as planned. The purple-haired woman was having a fairly difficult time trying to make her victim crack. To everyone's expectations, she would have gotten information from the captive on the same day the captive was introduced to her but it's been a little over a month now and still nothing. So yes, frustrated was a perfect word to describe her mood.

'I don't know what else to throw at her; I've tried everything and she still won't talk.' The interrogator thought as she heaved a large, aggravated sigh. Her only other option was to get Ibiki in on the interrogation but even then she would doubt he would be any more intimidating than herself. Just as she was about to get up and continue her work, a certain blonde mercenary opened the door to her office.

"Hey Anko-chan, how's everything?" he asked with a small genuine smile on his face.

"How do you think?" was her snide response, "Your little captive is giving me one hell of a headache. I've nearly used all of my methods to break her and yet none of them worked."

"That's what've I've heard," he walked up to her desk and stood in front of her with his hands lazily resting on the back of his head, "You know, your reputation might diminish because of this…" the blonde had to move out of the way to dodge a stapler being thrown at him.

"Shut up you brat! Whoever trained her, trained her well!" the woman huffed as she folded her arms below her breasts and averted her gaze toward the wall to her right. "If you're so intent on being a smartass, why don't you try to get her to talk?"

Naruto chuckled a bit, "Actually, that's the reason why I'm here. Baa-chan asked me to interrogate her; I don't know why she would request such a thing of me…I'm not that good of an interrogator but…after a bit of thinking I figured 'why not?'"

Laughing was the only thing Anko chose to do and such an action continued for a couple minutes before she calmed down and looked at the blonde with amusement, "You're damn right you're not that good of an interrogator and if I can't get anything out of her I highly doubt you'll be able too."

A frown found its way upon Naruto's face, "Just because I'm not that good doesn't mean I haven't interrogated anybody before…anyway, how about we bet on it. If I can get any sort of information out of her you have to treat me to ramen and if I can't then-"

He was cut off by the purplette, "then I get to do anything I want to you." She eyed him up and down while a sort of feral smile adorned her face.

The mercenary gulped but nodded nonetheless, "O-ok, you're on!"

"Fine, your captive is in room 3 down the hall to the left…good luck and you better hope to Kami that you win our bet."

With another fear-filled gulp Naruto gave her a "thumbs up" and quickly left the office in pursuit of the room that he was told to go to.

Darkness covered the gloomy atmospheric room with its only source of light being a single lit lamp that was hanging by a thread on the ceiling. Beneath the rays of the lamp sat the figure that Naruto was looking forward to talking to. She was seated in front of a desk with her hands shackled around the chair. Her head was limp, which was an indication that she fell asleep due to deprivation or boredom and she was clothed in a tattered shirt and pants. The most noticeable attribute that she had was her hair color, which was red.

Ending his analysis of her being, the blonde took the initiative of catching her attention, "You know… I still don't understand how a person of your stature was able to fire a weapon of that size." Naruto managed to smile as the woman's head slowly lifted and her gaze fell on him.

"What are you talking about?" her voice seemed cold and calculating and from what he could tell, her expression was devoid of emotion.

"A month ago, when you attacked me…you tried to kill me with a RPG." The blonde all but deadpanned.

"…Oh yea…too bad you didn't know when to fucking die." She said menacingly.

Naruto through his hands up in mock defense, "Whoa, whoa…no need to get hostile with me; I'm just trying to get a conversation going."

"Fuck off…don't try to play good cop, bad cop with me."

"And what makes you think I'm trying to do that?" Naruto asked with amusement.

"The other fuck that was in here was a sadist and she doesn't know the meaning of mercy."

The mercenary released a light chuckle, "That's Anko for you…she'll try to get information out of you no matter what." His amused expression changed as soon as his laughter died down and a more serious expression took its place, "Anyway, if you think I'm here to play good cop, bad cop then you're wrong." He nonchalantly walked up to the other side of the desk and crossed his arms, "I need information, and you're going to tell me all that you know."

"Fuck you, you-"

Naruto interrupted her by placing his pointer finger up in the air, "Now wait minute, before you start cursing me out I'm going to tell you this now…I'm not here to torture you like your previous host…in fact," the mercenary yawned and placed his hands behind his head before he continued, "I'm going to see if Anko will release you."

"….You're shitting me right?" Confusion was written all over the woman's face.

"No…As far as I can tell, you were probably trained to the bone when it comes to being tortured and techniques of the same name don't seem to affect you one bit." The blonde turned his back and began walking toward the same door he entered the room through, "So I'm going to change it up and be the opposite of a torturer…"

"So you mean…like a fucking caretaker?"

He chuckled at the question, "If you want to look at it that way than yea; I'm going to be your caretaker." With that said he left the room.

Moments later…

"Well captive…you're no longer a captive." Was the only sentence to come out of Naruto's mouth as he crouched down and took the key in his right hand to release the painful grip of the shackles from the woman's wrists. Almost instantaneously was there a kick aimed for his face and with attuned reflexes he crossed his arms over said appendage and successfully blocked the attack. He then proceeded to quickly stand on his feet and smile.

"That's not nice ya' know." He said in tone that was meant for the berating a child.

"Shut the fuck up." Was the woman's angry response as she launched a series of punches aimed for the blonde's face and chest. Naruto easily dodged the attacks by ducking and weaving; after about the fifth or sixth punch did he see an opening and he quickly through a punch right to her gut, which caused her to double over in pain.

"You moves are quite sluggish, which made them easy to dodge." The blonde said with that same berating tone, "but I know Anko probably starved you for the majority of your days here, so that probably explains that." He relaxed his being and once again rested his hands on the back of his head, "Now let's go get you something to eat because I know you're probably hungry." As to prove his point the woman's stomach growled...even though it was in pain.

….

Konoha's array of buildings was orchestrated in a mass display of lights as nighttime made itself apparent. Naruto found himself reluctantly walking down the sidewalk toward the infamous restaurant known as Ichiraku's. Whatever was going to happen tonight, he had to be sure to keep his emotions in check unless he would want to make himself look like an arrogant asshole. He did not want to have the attitude of the Uchiha during their time as a team…he would gut himself before he would allow that to happen.

'I really don't even know why I'm going anymore but it's too late to turn back now.' Ichiraku's was just up ahead and he spotted his ex-team conversing with each other, in any case they were absolutely unaware of his existence at the moment. Only a few steps later did Kakashi tear his eyes away from a talking Sasuke and look directly at him.

"Yo!" the scarecrow greeted happily with a small wave.

The greeting caused an almost amusing reaction from his ex-teammates as a sort of domino effect took place. Hearing Kakashi greet the merc forced Sasuke to turn around and widen his eyes before allowing an audible "Hn" to escape his mouth. Sakura mirrored the Uchiha's actions but said something totally different.

"N-Naruto?" She was in complete awe.

Said blonde forced a small smile and waved at them half-heartedly, "Hey…" the tone of his voice however contradicted the smile.

Though Kakashi knew of his ex-pupils torment he played it off in order to keep the mood up, "I'm glad you could make it Naruto."

"Hm." And the nod of his head was his only response.

Sasuke, though not openly displaying it, was concerned for his friend…he looked vulnerable, almost fragile and Sakura saw the same thing. The pinkette felt shame, guilt and what not flood her system with no mercy. She averted her gaze to the side to break away from the blondes sapphire eyes, for they were like the leaky faucet of his emotions (corny as hell, I know).

"We should get inside and eat." The blonde relayed before he open the doors to the restaurant and walked inside.

Chapter End….

And there you have it folks, stay tuned for more to come and be sure to comment or PM my profile if you have any questions. Till next time, this is KotovSyndrome signing off.


	6. A New Friend and a New Contract

Yo everybody, here's the next chapter to 'My Life for Hire' and I want to thank the people who have commented and added this story as one of their favorites as well as put it on their alert notifications list err…whatever it is.

**BuzzLightyear191 **–Thank you and I guarantee you that this story will not be sappy and I know what you mean when you say he does all the work in the manga. I intended it on being one of my darker writes and he…haha…he won't be as emotional as a pregnant woman.

**Jashin ideology sekte **– He is indeed super, cool and dark :D

**OrcaDM** – Thank you, I'm glad you think so and trust me, they're going to suffer for what they have done.

**Suave Jiraiya **– I know the whole betrayal thing is cliché and I did have other options in mind but I didn't really have the means to create a plot in that matter. Believe me when I say that I tried my suggestions by rewriting these chapters a couple of times but none of my ideas followed through and they were going to make the story ten times harder to work with. Both Sakura and Sasuke are going to undoubtedly work hard in order to gain Naruto's trust back that I promise you. The reasoning for him in going to the little reunion was so I can work with something when it came to illustrating Naruto's distrust with his ex-teammates and captain. As for your question, I plan on it to be but I might change my mind later on. Anywho, thank you for your comment because you definitely helped me with a couple ideas I have.

On with the story folks!

Chapter 5: A New Friend and a New Contract

Calm, collected, and neutral, that's how Naruto was being at the moment and he intended on keeping it that way throughout this little get- together. Displaying his anger was not going to solve anything and there was no way he would want to deal with the drama if such thing were to arise due to an outburst. As far as he was concerned, the people sitting before him were nothing more than mere acquaintances.

Though, this event wasn't all bad, he got to see Ayame and Teuchi for the first time in three years and he received two bone-crushing hugs from the duo as well as a small peck on the cheek from the female. That simple action undoubtedly caused the blonde to blush but it also put a genuine smile on his face. What made the situation even better was the fact that the owner of the restaurant and his daughter stated that any order made by him and his 'friends' was on the house.

Screw the smile, for the first time in three years the mercenary outwardly displayed a broad grin. However, that little reunion happened a little over fifteen minutes ago and that broad grin was nowhere to be seen. The group's food had already arrived and his three 'acquaintances' were conversing among themselves while he listened on with little interest. Actually, he was within the own recesses of his mind thinking of his encounter with Deidara and how his body was nowhere to be found. That obviously meant he survived but to how he did so was beyond him. There were all sorts of lacerations and shrapnel on his body and the blood loss due to such injuries was immense. 'The only way he could have made it out of there is if an ally of his carried him out…so was there someone other than us in that room as well?'

"Naruto?"

Said blonde didn't hear his name being called for he was too deep in thought, 'That has to be it…As soon as I get back to Iwa I need to investigate that room.'

"Naruto!"

He finally snapped his mind back to reality and shot his gaze forward toward the origin of the voice, "Hm?" he questioned.

Sakura flinched at his tone which held nothing but disinterest and spite within it but she continued to speak, "Is…is something wrong?"

Naruto took a moment to answer, "No…" his tone was neutral and devoid of emotion. Such a display caused the pinkette to flinch once more while Sasuke avoided the blondes gaze.

"Well why don't you tell us of your ventures throughout the past three years?" Kakashi spoke up, determined to get something out of his ex-student.

"Kakashi…I'd rather not; my career doesn't have any stories to tell without involving bloodshed and other grotesque subjects." The blonde explained.

Giving a small frown from beneath his balaclava, the white-haired man started to prod for information, "Come on, I'm sure all of us would like to hear a story or two; we're all friends here."

Abruptly, he stood up without hesitation and looked at the group of now surprised soldiers with narrowed eyes, "If any of you think we're still friends then you're wrong," he yelled in rage and anger, "As far as I'm concerned I was kicked off of Team 7 the day I was banished."

Sakura quickly responded to his declaration, "Naruto…that's not true, you're still our teammate."

The blue-eyed merc chose to laugh at that but as soon as his laughter died down his eyes turned to steel, "I'm surprised to hear you say that Sakura, I remember specifically what you said to me. As soon as you found out I put Sasuke in the condition he was in you immediately accused me of being irresponsible and inconsiderate. Not only that but you disowned me as a teammate right after your little outburst." Naruto's rage was inhuman at the moment; he belligerently switched his gaze from the pinkette to his so called 'brother.' "After all the trust I gave you, you decided that it was worth nothing. Not only did you try to kill me but you called me weak and a nobody that would never achieve his dreams. I thought of you as brother and to hear words like that from a person you have a strong bond with is more than disheartening." The blonde took a calming breath before he looked at the final person that would experience his rage, "And finally there's you, you were my captain and my teacher yet you did not teach me anything. Your time was dedicated elsewhere, with someone else," he briefly looked at Sasuke before turning back to his victim, "I had to learn things on my own when I left and I can't believe I tried to play everything off as if it was nothing."

Tears were falling from Sakura's eyes at this point as she was experiencing her…friends rage first hand, "Stop….please," she pleaded.

The blonde shot his rage-filled gaze back to the pinkette, "Why? Why should I?" he asked, as if threatening her to give a reason.

"Because…" she said, "This is not you."

"You're right," he said as he folded his arms across his chest, "This is not me from three years ago, this is not me being naïve or innocent, and this is definitely not me being the same dumb idiot that hides behind a shit eating grin." His cold eyes fell on all three of his ex-teammates, "This is me finally growing up and facing reality." Silence filled the air due to the three people before him being too shocked to speak. This gave time for the blonde's rage to die down and he reverted back to his calm, neutral, and normal self. He nonchalantly turned on his heel and began to walk out of the restaurant with its customers and owners staring at him in awe. He had a hand on the door handle before he was stopped by the strained and deeply melancholic voice of Sakura Haruno.

"Is there any chance of us sharing a bond again?"

At that moment the merc turned around once more and stared directly into the pinkettes eyes, "I don't know…is there?" he shrugged and with that being his only answer he lazily exited the building.

The remaining Team 7 could only look on ahead as all three of them were too emotionally distraught to say anything. Sakura was the first one to stand and leave the restaurant; her mind was all over the place and tears were freely running down her face. She needed to get home and recollect her thoughts; only then would she be able to start rebuilding the bond between 'her and her Naruto.

Sasuke and Kakashi both stood and left at the same time but both had different destinations. The white-haired man walked in the direction of the Hokage Monument intending on visiting his old friends that were no longer with him. Sasuke walked in the direction of his home, he needed to face his demons and clear his mind before he could focus on getting his friend/brother back.

…..

"I can't believe I went to that stupid thing…" Naruto mumbled to himself as he walked back to his temporary apartment. "I knew I would lose my temper and yet I still went." He released a short sigh and saw that his momentary home was in sight. He sluggishly walked up the complex's spiral staircase before he reached his floor and walked to his doorstep. Fishing his keys out of his jean pocket he unlocked his door and walked through the doorframe. Upon entrance he was greeted by the sight of his red-haired companion lounging on his couch, watching TV.

The blue-eyed teen was quite surprised to say the least; if anything he would have expected her to up and leave upon his departure. "I'm surprised." He simply stated.

"Why?" the redhead asked curiously.

"Well I figured you would try to escape."

She chose to laugh at such an accusation, "There's no sense in me doing that shithead, and I feel at home right now." As to prove her point she stretched out her limbs and placed her hands behind her head all the while letting out a content sigh.

An annoyed sort of look plastered itself on Naruto's face, "That's good and all but can you stop calling me…shithead?"

"Why? I think that name suites you."

The blond smacked his forehead with his right palm and let it slide down his face, illustrating that he was frustrated and a little upset, "No…it really doesn't."

"Whatever shithead," she waved him off lazily, "anyway, what are you up to?"

Seeing as arguing with her wasn't going to make her drop the nickname she gave him, he chose to answer her question, "Nothing, I just came back from a frustrating meeting with…associates."

"Sounds like it was fun." Was her only response.

"Yea…right." He pulled his orange shirt over his head and took it off, choosing to throw it near the apartments entrance. Lazily, he dragged himself over to the occupied couch and plopped down next to his guest.

"You know what shithead?" said person turned his head and gave her a quizzical look, "this business with you being my caretaker isn't all that bad."

"Why would it be?"

"I don't know," she shrugged her shoulders, "I expected you to treat me like dirt…yet, you're treating me like some sort of honored guest."

The blonde only laughed at her conclusion which made her a little annoyed "What kind of caretaker would I be if I treated you like garbage?"

The woman mumbled something incoherently before responding, "A bad one." She said almost silently.

"I'm guessing you're not used to this sort of treatment." It was more of a statement than a question.

She only shook her head and rested her arms on the couches frame, "I was usually treated as a slave more than anything. The person that I work…worked for would beat the training and knowledge I have now into me. When I would get a break from such a routine I would usually get called in to do some sort of stupid task in order to please him."

'So her boss is a male…well that's a start.' The blonde thought.

The merc furrowed his eyebrows, "That's not a way to train somebody, nor is it effective...and what tasks are we talking about here?"

The redhead shrugged as if her suffering was common knowledge, "I would sometimes be used as a test subject for his experiments and what not."

'So he's some sort of scientist too…' he concluded within his thoughts, 'why does all of this sound familiar?'

"Are you glad to be away from this person?" he asked curiously.

She laughed at such a question with an obvious answer, "You bet your ass I am."

"So that's why you chose not to escape when you had the option to." The blonde concluded, "As you said before you were trained through discipline, which means the failure in killing me would have resulted in a very harsh punishment from this man. This also means you're afraid of him."

"I never said I was afraid of him!" she all but yelled.

He chuckled at the outburst, "You didn't have to directly say it, I know due to clues from your previous words. Who wouldn't be afraid of a man who beats you until you get something right or uses you as a test subject for his experiments?"

"I'm not afraid of him! I…I just don't want to go back and be treated like some sort of play toy." She said in a slightly melancholic tone.

"Then don't go back…"

"I don't plan on it shithead."

Hearing his new "nickname" again caused the blonde to pinch the bridge of his nose out of annoyance, "Ok if you stay with me can you at least stop calling me that?"

"What else am I supposed to call you? I don't know your fucking name."

"Oh yea…" he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "we didn't exactly get the chance to introduce ourselves." He put his hand out in an open grasp opting for a handshake in return, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki." He followed up on his sentence by displaying his foxlike grin.

The redhead looked at his hand and then back at him before giving him a smirk, "The name's Tayuya."

….

The sun made itself noticeable over the horizon as its rays illuminated the city of Konoha, giving those the knowledge that morning had arrived. Naruto slowly let his eyes open before yawning and sitting up on the couch he slept on. He allowed his guest to sleep in his room due to him thinking it inconsiderate for a person with such status to sleep on the couch. He began to roll his neck in a circle and only stopped when a couple audible cracks were heard, signifying that his neck wasn't stiff anymore. 'I forgot how much sleeping on the couch sucks.' Choosing to stand up, the blonde walked over to a dresser in the far corner of the room and opened the top drawer. He pulled out a black short sleeve shirt with an orange stripe running down its right side and threw it on. Next he pulled out a pair of dark khaki combat pants which he threw on as well.

_Knock Knock Knock_

'Who the hell?' He quickly walked to the door an opened it, only to find Kakashi standing under his doorway. The merc raised a single eyebrow, emphasizing that he had a small bit of curiosity as to why the scarecrow was standing beneath his doorframe.

"The hokage wants you to report to her office a.s.a.p, she has an assignment for you." He said in his usual cool tone.

"Ok." Was the blonde's neutral response.

"And for what it's worth Naruto…I'm sor-"

"Save it Kakashi…" was all he said before pushing the door closed, leaving a surprised albeit saddened team captain outside of his apartment.

Naruto quickly put socks and his combat boots on his feet before writing a note and leaving it on the table to notify Tayuya of his whereabouts. He hastily made his way to his front door and opened it to find Kakashi gone; ignoring his curiosity of the scarecrows current location the blonde ventured toward the Hokage skyscraper.

Tsunade sat at her organized desk and rested a field report on said object with a frown fitted across her face. Two teams were ambushed by an unknown group of soldiers and only two of the eight soldiers within those teams made it back alive. There were explosives set up on the path the two squads were taking and as soon as they were in the vicinity of the blast radius they detonated, already killing three of the soldiers. Another two were taken out by snipers that were hidden and unseen while another was burned alive.

The Hokage was brought out of her thoughts by the man she requested for, "Hey baa-chan."

"Hey yourself," she said roughly, "Sit down." Obeying, the blonde did what he was told and took a seat across from his fellow blonde. "I have another contract for you," she said as she slid the field report she read earlier in his direction, "Two teams were attacked a couple days ago and only two members from both teams made it back alive."

"It seems the KIA members were killed swiftly, were their deaths instantaneous?" the blue-eyed teen questioned while reading the report.

"I don't know, the two survivors were hospitalized due to wounds and if I were to guess…I would say it was a battle that lasted for only a few minutes."

Naruto slowly put the piece of information back down on the desk and placed his hands behind his head, "I'm guessing you want me to investigate the area of battle and track down the assailants?"

Tsunade nodded her head, "If you do find them your objective is to extract any information out of them before killing them."

The male nodded his head, "Ok…" he got up and gave his 'baa-chan' a focused and professional stare, "after I've completed this contract I plan on returning to Iwa to complete the contract given to me a month ago."

The Hokage furrowed her eyebrows a bit, "You do know you won't have any leads to go off of…Jiraiya left there and now is stationed in Kumo."

The blonde laughed a little, "That's makes the mission all the more interesting" he stated.

"Before you go, there is one more obligation you have to meet in order for you to complete this contract."

He gave the woman a questioning glance, "And that would be?"

"You have to lead a team there for support just in case you face any opposition."

Naruto could only release a sigh, "What are you trying to accomplish? You know I don't need their help yet you still try to pair me with them."

"I'm not trying to accomplish anything," she said calmly, "I'm trying to make sure you don't get yourself killed."

"Yet out of all the people you could team me up with you choose them…why is that?"

"Because they are the most effective squad we have."

The blonde pinched the bridge of his nose, "You know I can refuse the contract right?"

"I do, but both you and I know that this has some sort of connection with Danzo and the Akatsuki. None of the other cities would attack our soldiers without reason, plus those two teams were on patrol near the border of the city…right next to-"

"The warehouse where I found the weapons cache." The teen finished. "…so any intelligence I gain from them may help with my investigation in Iwagakure."

"Exactly."

"…Fine," he relented, "but if you're expecting me to interact with them in any friendly manner then you can forget it; this is strictly professional."

The Hokage nodded once again, "I understand."

"What are the means of transportation?"

"Helicopter; you and the accompanying squad will be dropped off a few hundred yards from the battle site."

Naruto nodded in understanding, "Understood. I'm guessing team 7 already knows."

"Yes."

"Good, I'll be back here to meet the Team and then we'll be on our way." With that said the blonde calmly turned on his heel and walked toward the elevators.

End of Chapter 5

Ok folks here ya go. Sorry if this chapter isn't as exciting as the other ones but I wanted to show some relationships between Naruto and a couple characters. As I said before, leave comments or PM me if you have any questions or what not and I'm hoping for the next chapter to be up sometime next week as I'm going on vacation tomorrow and won't be taking my laptop. Till next time this is KotovSyndrome signing off.


	7. Heated

Hello everbody, here's the next chapter to "My Life for Hire." Before I start though I would like to respond to a couple comments I got from some readers.

**Suave Jiraiya-** I agree with the problem you present to me and thanks to you I've decided I'm going to add onto what the pinkette did to Naruto besides the verbal bashing. Thank you for your review cause you pointed out a problem that bothered me too.

**KCWolfman- **Thank you for having a positive perception on my story and I agree with Suave Jiraiya as well. So I decided to add on to what Sakura did to him in order to satisfy the uneasiness of Naruto's anger toward Sakura.

One more thing, I apologize for the long wait and I hope this chapter meets your expectations.

Chapter 6: Heated

It was night time within the walls of Konoha and most would expect nothing but peace and quiet to engulf the city. This was the case for most people throughout the large piece of land but for a select few their peace was disturbed by the roaring sound of a helicopter's engine and blades. This particular chopper was on route to the designated location of an area scarred from battle. Where this battle took place was no mystery to the team aboard the copter as they were already briefed on the whereabouts as well as the battle itself.

Naruto was seated across from his other three "teammates" aboard that particular helo with a neutral look upon his face. He was outfitted in a ballistic vest that was modified with a high collar in order to protect his neck from bullets, a new sort of urban camouflaged, heavy meshed combat shirt that canceled the effect of shock to the body from an explosion, the pants consisted of the same material as the shirt, elbow and knee pads that were made of malleable fiber glass which protected the joints from shrapnel or any type of sharp object, and finally fingerless, black gloves that had padding on the knuckles for protecting from minor objects or nuisances. His weapon of choice was an assault rifle that had specific modifications he preferred such as an angled grip attached to its under rail, a zoom optics scope that provided less zoom then that of a sniper rifles scope but more than that of a RDS (Red dot Sight). Finally it had a laser sight and a flash light that were attached on either side of the gun. The deadly object was resting on the seat to the right of him.

He briefly looked up at his obligated partners and saw the uneasiness that settled in each of their eyes. They avoided any sort of eye contact from him and either looked at each other or looked around the copter. Though he didn't like the people of his team, he applauded the skills they had. Reading Sasuke's up-to-date profile, he found that he was classified as a sniper…and a good one at that. Apparently his aim was critical and spot on, giving the assumption that he rarely or never missed. Sakura was a well-trained medic that could practically make use of any object around her and somehow turn it into a medical tool. In fact, her medical skills were close to, if not, on par with that of the Hokage's…the old woman trained her well if such praise was thrust upon her. Finally, Kakashi was evenly balanced in all fields of combat and reconnaissance, his medical skills were recorded as decent which was understandable considering the fact that medical teachings weren't quite in his line of interest.

"We're coming up on the drop point, be ready." Came the voice of the chopper's pilot. The passengers within the chopper gave a slight nod and three of the four of them strapped a ballistic helmet to their heads. The one rebel of the group, being the blonde, stood up and grabbed his weapon which he slung over his shoulder due to a strap being attached to the fatal object.

Only after a few seconds later did the helicopter come to a stop and Naruto already had his rope clipped to a bolted hook on the vehicle's metal floor. In one swift motion, he jumped out of the helo with a firm grip on the rope and as expected he slid down the rope and landed safely on the ground. His squad mates followed suit and quickly took their positions next to him. Looking up, the mercenary put his right pointer and middle finger to his earpiece, "We're clear, you can return home."

The vehicle's pilot responded with an, "understood," and departed from the area to return back to base.

Giving off an audible sigh, the blonde took a few steps forward and turned around to gaze upon his assigned team, "Alright, you all know the plan. Sasuke and Kakashi, the both of you try to set up in one of the buildings surrounding this area; if anything looks suspicious make sure you radio the both us." He got a nod from the addressed males and the both of them separated to follow their objective. His gaze swiftly focused on the remaining member of Team 7, one being Sakura Haruno. "You and I are going to search this area for clues; make sure you stay with me and do not wander off anywhere, you understand?" His voice was firm and held a high amount of authority within it.

When in control of a unit, the blonde became something other than his normal self. He had the mindset of a cold calculating strategist, while his combat skills resembled that of a battle scarred veteran. He basically was self-taught, obtaining such skills through trial and error from contracts he received before his return to Konoha.

Sakura nodded her head, confirming that she understood the orders that were given to her. Though she wanted to talk to the blonde personally, she knew now was not the perfect time; they were on a mission and that took priority over any personal drama they had between themselves.

"All right..." Naruto turned toward the area of investigation, "let's get a move on." Both the pinkette and the blonde cautiously proceeded toward the battle area and from what they could see, the battle was pretty intense even if it didn't last that long. Shrapnel and bullet casings were littered all over the ground and in some areas there was evidence of small fires that were ignited, but from what, they didn't know.

Naruto stopped abruptly, which made Sakura stop as well, and decided to pick up one of the casings to see if he could identify the weapon in which the casing came out of. 'Strange…' the blonde thought; he held the object with his pointer finger holding one end and his thumb supporting the other end, 'This is a large casing…which means that it was shot out of a high caliber weapon.' He put his other hand underneath his chin and eyed the evidence quizzically, 'This isn't a bullet that would be fired out of a handgun that's for sure nor does it represent that of a magnum casing…so the only other option would be a high-powered rifle.' Agreeing with his conclusion, he quickly pocketed the item in one of the many pouches of his ballistic vest and continued walking through the scarred battlefield with Sakura close behind.

"Naruto…" Sasuke made himself noticed through the teams shared radio link, "The warehouse near-by has a lot of movement within it. There are several trucks stationed just outside its doors and there are people carrying crates inside the facility."

"Can you identify the crates?"

There were a few moments of silence before the Uchiha spoke again, "They seem to be weapon crates."

Naruto's brows furrowed in confusion as he stopped walking, 'More weapons? No doubt they have the same destination as the ones from last time…but why does Amegakure need such a stockpile of equipment?' Turning around, his eyes met the barb wired walls of the warehouse, 'Looks like we have change of objective.'

The blonde turned his head slightly and focused his gaze upon Sakura's form, "The mission objective has changed," he held a finger toward the barricaded structure, "we need to infiltrate that warehouse."

A quizzical expression formed on the pinkette's face, "But what about our current objective?"

"We'll have to delay it for the time being; right now we need to find out why weapons are being shipped in and out of that place." Naruto reached within one of his many vest pockets and pulled an attachment for his weapon that neutralizes the noise of a fired round. Raising his rifles barrel to eye level, he twisted the object upon it until the resistance acting against his efforts was too strong. "The completion of this objective is top priority now," He lifted his eyes from the barrel of his gun back to his squad mate, "remain covert, we don't need to attract any unnecessary attention."

Sakura nodded her head in compliance as she applied the same accessory to her weapon. "How are we going to get into the compound? The front door is obviously out of the question."

Naruto snorted at her remark, still the same ol' Sakura, "Shortly after my initial arrival into the city, Tsunade gave me a contract that required me to infiltrate the same facility that we are about to. There's a back door that leads into the place but it should be guarded, so depending on the time we may need to hang back a bit and watch for guard rotations." He averted his gaze back toward the warehouse and released a short sigh, "Sasuke…"

"Yea?"

"You're going to be our eyes…Keep your scope fixed on us and warn us if there is any danger near our position."

"I understand."

"Good."

"Sakura, stay close and try to remain undetected." The pinkette nodded her head in response and quickly followed behind her blonde teammate as he swiftly made his way toward the back entrance of the facility. Aligning himself with the wall that was perpendicular to the back door, he slowly looked around the corner for any sign of guards on patrol near the entrance. To his surprise, there were no enemies in sight. 'That's strange.' He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, 'Something's wrong…'

Sakura observed the blue-eyed merc as his body visibly tensed, "Naruto what's-"

Said teen interrupted her question, "Be on guard; I have a bad feeling about this." Swiftly, the blonde moved to the familiar entrance and carefully put his hand on the door's mass. With a light push, it opened to reveal the trucks that the Uchiha had described prior to their breach. Naruto put his left pointer and middle digit on his earpiece, "Sasuke, I've spotted the trucks; me and Sakura are moving in to investigate. Radio us if you spot any movement heading in our direction." He said in a hushed tone.

"Right."

Returning his left hand to the grip of his gun, the merc jogged forward toward the vehicles with Sakura close behind. Reaching the rear of the trucks, the blonde walked toward the one closest in his field of vision. Reaching for the handle of the trucks storage door, he grasped it and lightly lifted it up (to his surprise it was unlocked) in order to prevent any noise from being heard. What he saw within the vehicle's haul made his eyes widen considerably. 'These are the same explosives that were stored inside the offices of Kogata Buki!'

"More explosive ordinance? Whoever owns this is planning something big." The medic stated with a surprised expression on her face as well.

"Agreed." The blonde responded, "From what I know and can guess, Danzo owns this warehouse which obviously makes him a culprit in whatever scheme is being planned."

"You know Danzo is an old warhawk, and he's been bitter ever since he wasn't gifted the title of Hokage." The pinkette explained.

"I know but why would he need all of this equipment?" The blonde furrowed his brows in confusion, "If he's planning to take the title of Hokage by force then he has more than enough ordinance to do so…but that wouldn't make sense if the weapons inside are being shipped to Amegakure."

"Naruto!" came the hushed voice of Sasuke via radio transmission, "You have a group of enemies heading your way; body count is six."

Nodding his head in acknowledgment, the blonde responded, "Copy." He turned and faced his "teammate" with a stern face, "Go around the back of the storage house and see if you can find a way in. Remember to remain hidden and radio me if you find anything of importance."

A worried expression appeared on the pinkette's face, "What are you going to do?"

"Sakura there is no time to explain, now go and that's an order." He said with a slightly angered undertone.

Staying silent for just a moment with a worried gaze, she hastily went around back in search for an alternate entrance into the warehouse. Sighing slightly, Naruto put his back up against the left corner of the truck in waiting anticipation of his enemies. As soon as the first soldier was visible the blonde sprang into action by pulling out his trusty combat knife and jabbing it into the man's throat and instantly causing him to choke on his own blood. Quickly pulling out his silenced sidearm, Naruto aligned the iron sight of the weapon with the next soldier within his precise vision. Before the man could react a bullet had already penetrated his skull; the blonde instantly and skillfully shot the remaining four patrolmen in the head with ease, causing all of their bodies to hit the floor in almost perfect harmony.

Holstering his weapon and retrieving his knife, the blue-eyed merc put his two left digits to his earpiece once again, "Sasuke, the group has been neutralized."

"Yea I saw…." By the sound of the Uchiha's voice the blonde could imagine him rolling his eyes, "The area looks secure."

"Right, keep your eyes open." With that said Naruto silenced the radio chatter. Stealthily, he followed in Sakura's footsteps and snuck around back in search for an alternate entrance. As if expecting it, he found the pink-haired medic standing near an unguarded door with her hand on its handle.

Feeling a presence in her vicinity, the pinkette swiftly took her hand off the handle and gripped her rifle's forestock. She turned her body in the direction of the presence and aimed her weapon at her assumed enemy. Seeing that it was her blonde-haired squad mate, she lowered her weapon in relief. "Naruto!" she stated in a surprised/hushed tone, "Are you o-"

"I see you found the back door." He interrupted with no interest in her worry full question.

Slightly saddened by his cold demeanor she slowly nodded, "It was unguarded when I found it."

'Odd.' Was the thought that crossed the merc's mind, "Stack up on the door and prepare for entry." He walked over to the door and placed himself on its right side with the handle an arm's length away. Sakura positioned herself behind him and lightly tapped him on the soldier, signaling him to open the door. Wrapping his hand around the door's handle, he slowly and silently pushed it open. Slowly did his body penetrate the doors frame and upon full entrance of the warehouse his eyes widened significantly.

'The weapons are no longer here! They must have been shipped already.' Cursing under his breath Naruto proceeded to walk down the facilities now abandoned isles. 'If all the weapons are gone then what were those trucks doing outside? Better yet, why were they filled to the brim with explosives?'

Sakura was confused more so than the blonde, though she didn't know as much as he did her thought process was parallel to his. Explosive maintenance inside trucks while the warehouse itself was bear, what sense did that make? Not only that, but whatever was here before must have been stockpiled in large quantities if the large shelves didn't accommodate for the accusation.

"Sakura, take a look at this." Came the voice of her companion.

Walking with haste, she made her way over to the merc and focused her vision on the object before them. A single crate lay before them with no indications that it had been touched.

Naruto rubbed his gloved hand over the boxes wooden base, 'It has the same shipping information as the other ones I saw when I was here before. Why would they leave this one and take the others?' Letting his rifle rest at his side and crouching down, he placed both his hands under the crease of the crates lid and slowly opened it. What lay inside slightly surprised him as there was absolutely nothing. "Empty…" he sighed in disappointment.

"Wait, Naruto…" said male turned his head slightly and stared up at the pinkette with a raised brow, "do you hear that?"

_Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep…_

'What the hell?'

_Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep…_

Quickly standing up, Naruto frantically looked around for any sign of an object that was generating the irritating noise. Looking up he spotted a flash of green on the facilities ceiling; widening his gaze significantly, he swiftly brought his vision down and looked at the medic, "We have to get out of here now!"

"I don't think so." A deep voice echoed throughout the place. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto slowly searched the area within his field of vision. There was nothing out of the ordinary if you eliminate the explosives above their heads, but that train of thought was severed when a small, almost unnoticeable light caught both the blonde's and pinkette's attention. It was…hovering in place, slowly moving in the direction of the draft that flowed within the area. After a few seconds the light grew bigger and brighter causing both squad mates to squint their eyes due to its intensity.

The closer it came the more noticeable it became as it wasn't just a light, but a giant monstrous flame…and it was not stopping anytime soon.

"Sakura, move!" Both the merc and the soldier turned on their heels and began to sprint toward the other end of the isle. The heat that the fireball was radiating grew more ferocious, signaling that it was inching closer and closer.

'We're almost there; just a little further.' The blonde assured himself though he was thoroughly panicked. Whoever or whatever shot the flaming death ball had perfectly trapped them within the confines of the warehouse. There was no doubt that the person locked down and covered all exits leading out of the place, giving both himself and the pinkette limited options as to what to do.

Reaching the end of the of the seemingly long and narrow aisle way, Naruto and Sakura dove in opposite directions the blonde being the one to dive to the left while the medic dove to the right completely avoiding the deadly object that was chasing them.

The voice once again echoed throughout the warehouse's vacant interior, "No matter what transpires between us, the both of you will die here."

Both Naruto and Sakura stood in cover a few meters away from each other. The blonde had both of his hands on his weapon as it rested against his body and he drew a quick breath in an attempt to regain his focus as his mind was slightly high due to it being set on instinct. Whoever was attacking both himself and the pinkette was well hidden, which gave them both a disadvantage in fighting the assailant. Not only that but the warehouse was not well lit either and visibility in some parts of the area only had about a two to three meter range.

Putting his pointer and middle digit to his earpiece, he tried to contact the other two members of his squad but only received static and an unintelligible set of words. This only left the assumption that all communications were being jammed by some sort of device within the area.

'Just my luck,' he thought with a slight sigh. 'I have no doubt that all the exits are sealed.' He continued within his mind. 'I knew this was a trap yet I chose to infiltrate this orokana basho (stupid place) anyway; idiot!' After a few seconds of self-criticism, he began to fabricate a way to exploit his enemy's position.

Sakura had caught her breath after running from the heated attack and looked over the area both herself and her blonde comrade were in. As Naruto thought (Obviously unknown to her due to her not being able to read minds) the area was poorly lit and almost completely dark. Looking to her left, thanks to a dimly lit ceiling light, she spotted the mercenary/squad captain in front of a large piece of metal with his back to it. His cover stood resolute in front of the long aisle shelf they both ran parallel to while evading the fireball. Her own cover, as she observed, was similar to his but at the moment that was beside the point.

Gripping her weapon tightly, which was a submachine gun with an extended clip and a reliable short ranged sight, she quickly ran out of her current cover and joined Naruto as she planted her back against the steel's cool surface.

"Do you have a plan?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Looking at her with an unreadable expression on his face, he nodded. "We have to exploit his position and the only way to do that is for one of us to be a distraction."

The medic nodded her head in understanding, "I'll be the distraction." She was about to run out of their cover but a strong grip on her arm prevented her from doing so.

"No." he stated simply, "I'll do it, and when his position is given away do not hesitate to take the shot; got it?" the last part of his order was stated strongly giving the impression that when it came to the task at hand…

Failure was not an option.

"One more thing." He continued, "As you should have figured out, this place is rigged with explosives. I have no doubt in my mind that we're on a timer so once the deed is done place a breaching charge on one of the sealed doors, understood?" he left no room for argument.

"Hai." Was the pinkette's simple reply.

With no more to say, Naruto ran out of cover and down the aisle they just came from. Narrowing his eyes, he cut left at the end of the long pathway and took cover behind another large resolute piece of metal. Checking the path he did not turn to, he saw that it was clear and released the tension from his body.

Frowning a bit, the blonde moved further left of his cover and peaked around corner for any sign of the enemy. To his relief and dismay, there was no sign of him. "I gotta say," he began; this is quite a trap you set up, with jamming our communications and sealing us in with no chance of escaping. But don't you think rigging the place with explosives is just a _little _much?" he commented loudly, hoping to get a reply out of his foe. No response came, cueing that the flame wielding man was not intent on playing into his trick.

'Smart bastard.' He thought, 'He's not taking any chances.' Turning around, his eyes widened because right there in front of him was none other than the man he was trying to exploit. He was tall and outfitted in what looked like a flame retardant suit that had armored plating all on the chest, stomach, shoulders, thighs, and shins. However, his head was bare of any protection, openly displaying his face. He wore a white hood coupled with a black half-balaclava leaving only his eyes visible. Speaking of which, his eyes were an unusual color of green and they contained no pupils. He had red sclera to compliment the color of his eyes which in turn gave him and almost demonic look.

The weapon he was pointing at the blue-eyed teen was none other than a propane operated flame thrower. Usually the packs accompanying such a weapon were large and visible, but no pack could be seen which either meant that there was a valve and a portable tank attached to the weapon or the pack was smaller than normal and was hidden behind him.

"Shit." The blonde mumbled under his breath.

The green-eyed man put his finger on the trigger of the deadly weapon before speaking, "Drop your weapon." The merc complied as he dropped his weapon, "Kick it toward me," again he complied, "I was not ordered to kill you…"

"That sure was obvious you know, with the explosives, sealing the exits, and openly expressing our fate within this place." Naruto stated with sarcasm dripping from his mouth.

"That was merely to give you sense of anxiety and distress, the explosives are not real and I had to ensure you could not escape capture." The tall man said in a deep, monotonous voice.

End of Chapter 6

And this is the end of chapter six, once again I'm sorry for the long wait but don't think I'm giving up on this story. With college and everything it just becomes difficult to update my stories. Anyway if you guys and girls have some suggestions for me when it comes to the plot of this story then go ahead and throw some at me. As for weapon description, I try to keep the weapon identity hidden as it really has no importance. As long as you know that weapon is an assault rifle, submachine gun, ex cetera then there really isn't a point in giving its identity away.

Next chapter will be the fight between Naruto, Sakura, and the flamethrower wielding man who you should know the identity of but if you don't you'll find out next time.

You may have questions pertaining to this chapter, if so just wait…your questions will be answered in due time.

_Till _next time, this is Kotov-Syndrome signing off…oh and please review if you want to.


	8. Inferno

Hey everybody! It's been quite a while, two years I believe. I can't exactly remember but regardless it's good to be back. Now, the reason why I haven't updated in so long is because my previous computer caught a virus and is now permanently out-of-use. I have a new one now though so it's all good!

The reason I'm updating this story is due to my brain giving me ideas for it. Not only that but I personally enjoy this story as I've re-read it a couple times. Also, I would like to thank **SaucyHandles **for relaying his/her concerns for my stories. Honestly, thanks to him/her I've gained inspiration in being a Fan Fic author again. Thanks again **SaucyHandles**.

Anyways! Onward with the story!

Chapter 7: Inferno

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the tall, monotonous man, "Why are you going through all this trouble to capture me?" the teen asked in a demanding tone. What he received in response was a blank stare, the man did not utter a single word.

Without warning, a flame on the barrel of the man's weapon became visible. With widened eyes, Naruto rolled to the left from his original position, narrowly dodging the flame's grasp. Now in a kneeling position, the blonde already had his primary weapon equipped and pointed it in the direction of his enemy. To his surprise, the pyro was already upon him and Naruto cringed when the man's monstrous hands grasped his neck in a firm grip. Slowly, the merc was lifted off his feet and was now staring into the man's lifeless green eyes.

"My organization has been looking for you ever since you were a mere child. We had no leads, nor any traces of your existence until just recently." the man said statically.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked in a strangled tone.

"A week ago, there were reports coming in all over the place of an explosion that destroyed the Kogata Buki building." the man stated. "One of our agents, Deidara, was stationed there to foresee the trade transactions with our buyers."

"Really?" the blonde chuckled raspily, "Well too bad he's dead bud-ack!" The grip on his neck tightened significantly, causing him to gag violently.

"I'd watch your mouth insect." The man said monotonously.

Slowly, Naruto's eyes began to close as his mind was slipping into unconsciousness. Just as he was about pass out, the tension on his neck disappeared. As he opened his eyes, he noted that his enemy was trying to recover from what seemed like a punch to the face as he was grasping his jaw. His assumption was confirmed when his gaze fell upon Sakura, who had her fist extended outward from the physical interaction.

Letting her hand fall back to her side, Sakura looked toward the blonde and ran to his aid. She instantly sank down to her knees and grasped the merc's arm, "Are you ok?" she asked in a worried tone that complimented the worried look upon her face.

Naruto, whom was rubbing his neck with his hand, met her gaze and gave her the smallest of nods, "Thanks." he said, almost sounding unappreciative. Slowly but surely and with the help of the pinkette, he pulled himself back up on his feet. He looked over at his enemy, who had already fully recovered, and noticed that the flamethrower within his hands was already releasing flame from its barrel. With widened eyes, the blonde pushed his teammate out of harms way and once again narrowly avoided the flames by diving toward a pillar and quickly taking cover behind it.

Readying his primary, he peeked around the corner of the pillar only to find the tall man shooting flames in his direction. Quickly retracting his head, he cringed at the intensity the flames produced as they rapped around the pillar in a half circle. As the heat died down, signifying that the attack was finished, the blonde pushed himself out of cover and aimed his weapon in his enemies direction. His eyes widened significantly as the man was no longer in sight.

'Where the fuck did he go!?' he thought frantically as he meticulously surveyed the area with his rifle at the ready. "Sakura!" he yelled in a hushed tone, with his gaze set in front of him. "Sakura!" he called again. Immediately after he sounded her name he felt a hand touch his shoulder. Reacting almost instantaneously, the merc pivoted on his foot in an one-hundred and eighty degree angle with his finger on the trigger. To his surprise, the pinkette was standing right in front of him with her weapon at bay.

Sighing in relief, Naruto lowered his primary and hardened his gaze, "Did you see where he went?" Sakura's response was a shake pf her head.

"Immediately after you pushed me out of the way I ran and hid for cover behind a pillar." She stated. "As soon as I peeked around its corner you two were no where in sight."

"Damnit…" the merc cursed under his breath. "Keep your eyes open and watch my back, we're going to find a door and breach it so we can escape." He received a nod in response.

Slowly, the two squad mates proceeded forward down an aisle the was in front of them, with Naruto leading and the pinkette watching the rear. With each step they took, they began to quicken their pace. Before they knew it they were already half way down the aisle.

Narrowing his eyes, Naruto whispered to the only medic of his squad, "Any sight of him?" he asked.

"No." she responded, imitating his hushed tone. "Is there any sign of way out up ahead?"

Focusing a little bit more, the blonde conveniently spotted a door at the end of the aisle way. "There's a door straight ahead, lets pick up the pace."

Obeying his command, Sakura began to speedily backpedal until both her and his back made contact. As if the action was a silent signal, the both of them quicken there pace into a hasty jog.

Finally, after a few more steps, the both of them made it to the door. Naruto eased himself out of his tense posture and slowly began to turn around only to stop mid-turn when a figure entered his peripherals. Almost doing a double-take, the blonde's breath hitched as he noted that the approaching figure was abnormally tall.

"Shit! Sakura place a charge on the door!" Naruto all but yelled as he instantly raised his rifle and began to fire rounds.

Said pinkette's eyes widened considerably as she swiftly turned around and grabbed a breaching charge from within her pouch. She smacked the charge on the door and began to back step while her gaze shifted toward the blonde.

"Naruto! The charge has been placed!"

"Then blow it!" The merc yelled back in a panicked voice while expertly reaching for a clip in one of his vest pouches to reload his weapon. No matter how many rounds he fired into the monstrous man, the bullets would ricochet off of his being, which made tiny sparks upon impact. 'He's wearing armor.' he thought off-handedly. 'Some sort of metal plating, it's definitely not impeding his movement.'

An explosion resounded behind the blonde, giving him the signal that the door had been blown off its hinges. With the "pyro man" mere feet away he quickly pivoted on his left foot and followed the pink-haired medic out of the door. As soon as he stepped past the doors threshold he noted that it was the same door both him and the medic used to get into the warehouse. The two of them ran a few feet away from the door and slammed their backs behind an abandoned truck, which successfully hid them from view beyond the threshold of the door.

Naruto brought his forefinger and middle digit to his earpiece, 'I hope we're not being jammed anymore.' he thought. "Sasuke! Can you read me!?" he said in a calm but loud tone. Static resounded from the earpiece along with a few distinguishable words.

"Naru….can….see….comms….jammed."

The mercenary sighed in relief, 'Well, it's better than nothing. Let's see if he can form a sentence out of what I'm about to say.'

"Sasuke, listen carefully." he started. "There will be a man coming out of the door we just came out of." Quietly, he shuffled his body around Sakura, who was to his right, and made it to the front end of the truck. He peeked his head around the edge of the window frame so that the doorway was in his sights. "Once you see him, shoot him in the head. Do not miss." He only received static in return. 'Great.' Sighing in frustration, he removed his fingers from the earpiece and retracted his head back into cover.

"Naruto?" Sakura called out as she gazed upon the blonde's frustrated expression, "What's the plan?"

The blonde pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger and looked at the pinkette "Sasuke." shegave him a look that meant 'explain further,' "Hopefully he heard what I said or at least pieced together what I said."

Sakura raised a singular brow, "I'm assuming our communications are being jammed?" she received a nod in confirmation, "What did you tell him?"

"I told him to shoot that asshole in the head as soon as he steps out of the door."

She gave him a deadpan stare, "You're kidding?"

The blonde returned her stare, "I'm dead serious."

She opened her mouth to berate him for his simplicity only to close it when a loud echoing sound hit her ears. Snapping her head toward the origin of the noise, she spotted the lining of a red laser coming down from the top of a building in the distance and over past her head and the truck. Looking back over to Naruto, she found that he was looking over the hood of the truck and back at the doorway the came out of.

Naruto spotted the body of their culprit lying in the threshold of the doorway with his hands and legs sprawled out on the ground. Taking slow, cautious steps, he made his way toward the pyro with his weapon at the ready.

After a couple more steps the man's face came into view and Naruto released a breath he didn't know he was holding. The man's pale green eyes were rolled up in the back of his head, signifying that he was dead. Completely holstering his weapon, the merc kneeled down and began to search the corpse for any informative information and to his surprise, in one of the many pockets on the body, he found a small device. It was making small periodic beeps.

The blonde put his hand on his chin and released a small "hmm," before he stood up and violently threw the device on the ground. The object shattered to pieces upon contact.

"Naruto, Naruto! Enemy has been neutralized, do you copy?"

Sighing absentmindedly out of relief, he activated his earpiece, "Yea I copy…Good shot. Now radio in for extraction and get us the hell out of here."

End Chapter 7

Hey guys, now I know this chapter is short and I also know that I'm more than just a little rusty but I'm going to try to ease myself back into this. I forgot how difficult it can be to type up chapters using certain, complex words and grammar. Not to mention, I have to try and remember what I was going to type after this chapter.

Regardless, now that I have a new computer I will be updating my stories as much as possible now. Comments and what not are absolutely welcomed and thank you all for reading this chapter and staying with me.

Till next time, this is KotovSyndrome.

Piece!


	9. Spite and Resolve

Hey guys! Here's the next installment to "My Life for Hire." Now before you continue reading, if you care, I have a few comments to answer.

Now my answer is to someone who commented as a guest. I don't know if he want s to stay anonymous or not but I'll call him **LL**. Anyway, I just wanted to get this battle scene out of the way so I can focus more on Team 7's interactions when it concerns there personal lives. As far as the council…I don't know what I'll do because I made Naruto report directly to Tsunade after his missions. I'll incorporate them somehow into the story. Thank you for your review though, it was much appreciated!

**SaucyHandles**- Thank you for clarifying that you're a guy haha. I didn't want to offend you in any way. Thank you for your support man, it's much appreciated! I might make a new story but I haven't thought that far ahead yet. Maybe you can give me some ideas!

Anyway, on with the story.

Chapter 8: Spite and Resolve

"What exactly happened in there, dobe?" One Sasuke Uchiha asked the blonde sitting across from him with a stoic, yet questionable gaze.

Naruto, whom was gazing at the floor within the helo, lifted his gaze and looked at the Uchiha with a blank stare, "It doesn't matter, the mission was completed."

Sasuke's face slowly creased into an annoyed expression, "It does matter…all of us," he waved his hand around the vicinity of the helicopter to show everybody's involvement in the current conversation, "were apart of this mission and the least you can do is brief us on what went down inside of that warehouse."

The blonde's brows lowered and angled a bit in irritation, "Why does it matter? Sakura and I went in the warehouse, found that the stash of weapons were gone, fought a guy with a flamethrower, and got out while you shot said enemy in the head." He lowered his gaze back down to the metal floor, "If you want to know more you can either ask Sakura or Tsunade after I debrief her."

Sakura, who was sitting next to Naruto quietly with her head down, looked over at her ex-teammate, "Why don't you just tell him yourself?" she asked softly.

"Because I don't have to." He answered sharply.

Sasuke's expression went from irritated to angry, "Why are you being such an asshole?!"

Upon hearing his question, the merc's expression matched the Uchiha's, "Because I can Uchiha. I don't have any obligation to be nice to you," he pointed at him, "Or him," he moved his extended forefinger toward Kakashi, "Or her," finally, he curled his arm and extended his thumb at Sakura. "Have you forgotten how all three of you betrayed my trust! Or do I need to repeat what was said at Ichiraku's a couple nights ago?" he asked with spite.

The cobalt eyed man snarled in response, "Why can't you just let go of the past? What happened, happened and cannot be changed."

"Because _Sasuke_," the blonde said his name with venom, "I sacrificed everything I had for all three of you and I received nothing but hatred and ignorance in return. So what else do I have to offer you three? The three people I once considered precious to me?" he lifted his head and what Sasuke saw in his eyes made him flinch, "All I have to offer is my own hatred in return."

Sakura was the next to speak, "Naruto, you can't mean that." she stated in disbelief.

Naruto snapped his head to the right with speed and stared at her with malcontent, "I do." he said in a low voice, "Whenever and if we are ever on missions, the only thing we have amongst ourselves is getting the job done. Other than that, you three are nothing but acquaintances." Once again he directed his stare back down at the floor, "Again, I'm not the idiot anymore and I'm not putting my trust in people who don't give damn about me. So just shut up and leave me be."

Both Kakashi and Sakura lowered their heads in sadness, while Sasuke stood up from his seat across from the blonde and glared at him, "Oh get over yourself dobe! There are worst things in life than betrayal! And we're trying to repent for what we've done to you!" he yelled.

Without moving his body in the slightest, Naruto retorted in a dangerous tone, "I would sit down if I were you. Bad things can happen when you're a few thousand feet above the ground."

Kakashi tensed upon hearing that response, ready to take action just in case things got out of hand. Although the feeling of guilt was eating away at him, he'd be damned if he let both his student and ex-student kill each other.

Sakura on the other hand, looked absolutely mortified. The blonde man sitting beside her wasn't anything like the Naruto she remembered. Who once was so carefree and happy was now cruel and cold. A ghost of a man that was once her teammate. "What's wrong with you?!" she shouted in sadness and disgust.

"I just said what was wrong with me Harunoor do you need me to reiterate it?" The merc said with absolutely no emotion in his voice. "You three are what's wrong with me. You don't understand what I had to go through just to even get you all to acknowledge me and when I thought I did…you all used me and broke me." He rested his elbows on his knees and interlaced his fingers as he rested them on his forehead, "Imagine…a kid who only wanted one thing most in his life, thinks he finally got it, and is proven wrong by his three most precious people. Kind of fucked up isn't it? I didn't have anything when I was small, not family, not friends, hell not even a roof over my head." he paused for a bit, debating on if he should continue, in which case he did, "So the only salvation I saw, was the academy. But it turned out to be just a living nightmare."

Kakashi lowered his head in self-loathing. Although he was much nicer to the blonde than most he still did the bare minimum for him. Scratch that, it wasn't only just him but Sakura as well. He neglected two of his pupils and focused on one, Sasuke. The reason being? Well, he saw a lot of himself in the dark-haired lad. A boy without family, going down a dark path. At the time, he wanted to change that and make the boy see the light. Obviously, that didn't work and now, after everything he had done he was dealing with a boy, not with dark hair but with locks of blonde, that had already traversed the darkness of this world. He had seen an heard about Naruto's deeds, ranging from interrogation to assassination. He wasn't just merc, he was a killer and a good one at that.

As if a brick hit his face, Kakashi's single, visible eye steeled itself with determination. There was no point in wallowing in self-pity; now that his knuckle-headed student was here, in the flesh, he would not allow him to be consumed in hatred. This was a chance at redemption and he would succeed in letting his student see the light again.

Sasuke had now plopped back down unto his seat. For the longest time, as a child until about a couple years ago, he thought he was forever trapped in the cycle of revenge and hatred. His family was taken away from him in a massacre, and the one solely responsible was his brother, Itachi Uchiha. At first he was more confused than angry. He didn't know why his brother would do such a horrendous thing. He also didn't know why the man spared him. But upon the confusion disappearing, hatred and a sense of revenge took it's place. The rest, as known by the three people present, was history. Now here he was and he couldn't help but laugh dryly in his thoughts. The man in front of him, was now walking the path that he once did and like Kakashi, he had an epiphany. Naruto proclaimed at a point in time that he, Sasuke Uchiha, was a brother to him. A smirk found a way unto his face as he was now going to show, from here on out, just how true that proclamation was.

Sakura blinked back tears that threatened to fall down her face as she stared at the cold man sitting beside her. Ever since the academy until recently, she had been ignorant and only interested in self-worth. How she developed such characteristics? Well, her ex-rival Ino. But then again it was just as much her fault for being that way than her bleach-blonde friend's. She was an outcast and she desperately needed someone to confide in, as what is well known, Ino was that person. Do to such interactions, she later found herself trying to impress the very boy that was in the copter with her. The prince. The Ace Academy Graduate of the Year. The Uchiha. As she remembered, every day was a day to try and get the boy's attention and that only became more so when she found out she was on the same team as him. She also remembered how another male was on that same team, a male with blonde hair. The Punching Bag. The Class Clown. The Pariah. Naruto Uzumaki. He was the one that openly relayed his feelings toward her. He was also the one that saved her on multiple occasions. From Gaara. From Orochimaru. From Sasuke. And how did she repay him…with spite. But yet, before the tragic event that took the blonde away from her, she realized that he was always there for her, smiling. And just like Kakashi and Sasuke, she understood what she had to do. And more so than Kakashi and Sasuke, she understood just how much Naruto Uzumaki meant to her. She will redeem herself in his eyes, no matter what she had to do…no matter the costs.

The helicopter had finally landed on a helipad stationed on top of the Hokage Tower. Naruto, being the first to stand, voiced his command, "The three of you can leave and go back to your respective homes, I'll file the mission report." and just like that, he stepped out of the helo and went inside a door a few feet away from the pad. The three remaining passengers imitated the blonde's physical actions, and followed him down through the door and down the stairs. It was then that they took a different path from him and went into an elevator, looking forward to making there teammate see the light again.

Naruto let loose a frustrated sigh as he approached the door of the Hokage's Office. Once again, he let his anger get the best of him. Those three, were like a cloud looming over him with drops of rain falling heavily upon his head. They were something he wanted to get rid of and there was no better way than to leave the city.

That's exactly what he's going to do.

Reaching the door, the merc swiftly opened it without knocking and heavily sat down in the chair across from the leader of the city. "I'm done." he said monotonously.

Looking up from her paperwork, Tsunade raised an eyebrow while she controlled her anger due to the blonde's rudeness. "What do you mean, _"you're done?"_"

Naruto folded his hands across his chest, "I'm leaving Tsunade. I've done what I can for you and now it's time to move on." his tone didn't change.

This time both of the Hokage's brows creased in anger, "What?!" She stood up and slammed both of her palms on the desk in front of her, "What do you mean you're leaving!? I hired you to help and as far as I'm concerned, your contract isn't up yet!"

"Then I nullify it. Whatever contracts you give me from here on out I will not accept. Now let me debrief you so I can leave."

Tsunade, due to rage, stomped around her desk and grabbed the blonde by the neck of his combat vest, "And what makes you think you can talk to me like that brat?!" Even though she knew the answer, she still wanted to hear it from him.

"Because Tsunade," he started, "If you remember, I'm no longer with Konoha; Which means you have no authority over me. I thought that was a given when I left in the first place." he responded once again, in a monotonous tone.

Giving out a frustrated sigh, the Hokage threw the merc back in his seat violently, causing him to slouch in his chair without a chance at recovery. "And why Naruto, do you want to no longer accept contracts from Konoha?" she asked in a tired voice. What the man said next, shook her to the core.

"Simply because I don't belong here."

Tsunade gasped slightly, "What?"

"You can thank the three people you set me up with, Tsunade. Now are you ready for the debriefing or no?" he asked, his tone never changed.

Slumping her shoulders slightly and sighing sadly the blonde Hokage nodded lightly before making her way back around the table and sitting down. "So what happened."

'I'm glad to be done with this place.' Naruto thought as he exited an apartment building with his duffle bag in hand. Hanging a left, he began walking in the direction of a bus depot that was a couple miles down. 'Thank Kami it's not too far away. I'd rather not walk forever to get somewhere.'

Hanging a left at the end of the street, the blonde spotted a couple walking down a sidewalk parallel to the one he was currently on. Both the male and the female were holding hands and the female gently put her head on the male's shoulder.

The merc chuckled dryly at the sight, as if it were a cosmic joked played on him by Kami herself. He didn't know why, but it seemed he couldn't catch a break from the things that bothered him the most.

"Hey, Shithead! Wait up!"

Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose and released a sigh, "Hurry up Tayuya," he called back, "I told you I was going to leave without you if you didn't pick up the pace. And didn't I ask you to stop calling me that?"

Finally catching up, the redhead slowed down her pace to match his and smirked, "Why should I? I think the name suits you."

The blonde once again released another sigh but couldn't help but let a small smile form on his face afterwards, "Because it's not my name. Plus," he raised his pointer finger in the air as he turned his head to look at her, "It doesn't suit me. In fact, I think it suits _you_ better!"

The redhead let a visible tick mark appear on her forehead, "Oh really?! Do you want to say that again fucker?!"

He let out a small chuckle, "You know Tayuya, you should really watch your language. It's unbecoming of you."

"Say's who?!" she asked defiantly.

The mercenary chuckled a little more before responding, "Says the person who agreed to let you be my partner."

Chapter 8 End

Well everybody, here's chapter 8. I hope you enjoyed it and look forward to the next chapter being posted relatively soon. Till next time!

Peace!


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